Category: From Our Fathers Heart

“How much do you really trust Me? How far will you go to place everything that you are and all that you own, even your very life, in My hands? Would you purposely move in harm’s way if I asked you to do so, knowing that you are needed there? Would you forsake your livelihood and all of your possessions to be endued with My power to do My work? Would you embrace the thought of bringing My life to those who hate you, even if it meant your life? These are difficult questions, I know. They are, however, questions that require answers if you say that you serve Me.

"I look at My church and I see weak, shallow relationships that signify a weak, shallow relationship with Me. I see people who call themselves followers of Jesus who have no clue what that really means. They think that I am pleased with their commitment to Me if they give a teeny portion of their money to My workers, go to a cold fellowship regularly, and do little harm to others. That is a religious system that I detest. I have never required anything less than everything from those who follow Me. I have never said that your comfort and safety is My goal for you. I have never given you the freedom to take what is Mine and use it for your comfort areas.

"When will you hear My call to holiness? When will you truly observe the life of Jesus and understand that I expect you to live the way He did? When will My will become your will? I have shown you in My Word, I have warned you, I have sent messengers with exhortations to seek Me and live a Christ-like life. Soon, you will need what you can only find in My presence. Begin to practice My presence now. Begin to seek Me with all your heart. Call upon Me with all your heart, so that you can learn of My heart and My desires for the life that I have given you. Learn to live My kind of life before it is too late. I am waiting for you.”

Isaiah 48:3 NIV

“I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.”

Acts 4:29-31 NIV

29) “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

30) Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31) After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

1 John 2:6 AMP

Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.

 

I love the prayer that the apostles prayed in that room together. Knowing that they were under scrutiny - Peter and John having just been chastised and warned to no longer do anything in the name of Jesus - their prayer was empty of any selfish motive. They prayed for boldness, not safety for themselves. They prayed for the will of the Lord to be done, not to find a way to avoid any trouble. Look what happened. The place was shaken, and then the world was shaken.

Immediately after that, the Word goes on to tell of a life that is unheard of in these days. In fact, the actions of sharing everything one with another, selling possessions so no one has need, is rarely talked about or preached. To do so would empty most churches.

What is noticeable, however, is the connection between walking in the power of the Lord and absolute unselfishness. Rarely are the qualities of total dedication, unconditional surrender of personal well-being, and full surrender of the ownership of everything equated with the ability to boldly speak the Word with true signs and wonders following. We do wonder, however, why the power of God to proclaim His Word with boldness, followed by authentic signs and wonders, is not readily available in our churches today. Hmmm!

Needing to lay it all down,

Jim Corbett

“For so long, I have not been able to trust My church. For much longer, My church has been unable to trust each other. Because of pride, selfishness, and simple immaturity, trust is a word that does not apply to you, My church. I can’t empower you with the deeper things of My Word, because you will use them to proclaim your “spirituality,” or testify to others of your position in Me.

"So often in the past, when I have placed My mantle of anointing on one of My children, it has been used to draw attention to that person rather than to My Son, Jesus. In doing so, what I have intended to be a witness to those who have not seen Him in action has often become a laughable side-show. Obviously there have been exceptions; but in most cases, it is true. I can’t trust you until you die to any desire to be seen, so that you can show others My Son.

"In the same manner, you can’t trust each other. You have become foolish in your lack of integrity. Think on this. If it is important that inner needs be shared with someone so that person can hold them before Me until I heal those needs, why have you stopped being honest and vulnerable with each other? It is because you know that your personal need will be exposed before everyone at the very next phone conversation or prayer meeting. Sure, it will be masked as a prayer need, but the violation of a trust still happens.

"There have been so many violations of your intimate needs, one to another, that you now find it impossible to be honest with each other - and rightfully so. Isn’t it time that you realize that being untrustworthy has brought you to a position of surface relationships with Me and with each other? I want to be able to trust you; so do your friends and so does the world. Determine to come to Me and be changed. I need you to represent My Son to the world. People need you to help them present their needs to Me. Repent today. Much is to be done.”

Prov. 18:2 AMP

A [self-confident] fool has no delight in understanding but only in revealing his personal opinions and himself.

Hosea 4:6 AMP

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge. I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to Me…

 

I have been given a Bible study on marriage. One of the healing elements of the teaching is when we understand the “violation of a trust.” The violation occurs in many ways, but the result is always the same - separation - first heart separation, then physical separation.

Many times partners don’t understand why their marriage does not have the fullness that they feel it should or why it has completely fallen apart. The root is often that they cannot trust the other with their most intimate needs, because those intimacies have been violated over the years.

Little words, mindless jesting, blatant ridicule, all eliminate the intimate “gifting” of one person to the other. I am convinced that one of the biggest hazards to intimacy (the ability to confide in your spouse and know that your needs are safe with your spouse) in a marriage is the best friend. If every word, every failure, every wound is automatically sent to that friend - or to anyone else, even in the form of a prayer need - communication between husband and wife shuts off and separation ensues.

It is the same in the church. Confidences almost surely will turn up as prayer needs or badges of knowledge. God calls it gossip and He hates it. He also despises the misuse of His gifts. They are not given to promote a person or ministry. They are given so that the world can see Jesus. Is it any wonder why they are rarely functioning anymore? To whom can the Lord entrust them?

Needing to close my mouth and open my heart to God and His ways,

Jim Corbett

“Do you see how different things look when you focus on someone else as you go through a trial of your own? There is great power in the way that Jesus functioned. He was focused on My plans and your welfare, even during His darkest hour. Because of that, every attempt to destroy the work at hand was foiled. It is the secret to your success, because it allows Me to accomplish what needs to be done without you hindering My work in any way.

"Listen to this. Whenever you are facing a trial of any kind, learn to divert your attention from the trial and focus on Me or on someone else, rather than the trial. I know that sounds simplistic, but it is the basis for perfect faith. I don’t mean that you are to avoid the trial, nor do I mean that you are to ignore it completely or make believe that it isn’t real. That would be denial and really quite foolish.Get the job done by lifting your needs to Me, but then turn your prayers and offerings toward Me in praise or on behalf of someone else.

"Love as My Son loved. You will be amazed at the strength you receive to make the trial endurable. You will rejoice, even in your darkest hour, as I am allowed to place My forces against your trial with My mighty power. The battle is really Mine. The direction of your concentration exhibits and enacts faith that pleases Me and moves in My spiritual laws. Your actions, where you place your trust, either inhibit or enable that faith to accomplish its work.

"Never have faith in your faith. Your faith should be in Me. When you have faith to quietly trust Me enough to allow Me to work on your behalf, as you look to the best interests of others during your trial, no power can hinder My actions. Your trial is in My hands completely. That is where it should be.”

Luke 23:33b-34 AMP

33b) …they crucified Him, and [along with] the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.

34) And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Hebrews 12:2 NIV

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross…

 

I’m convinced that Jesus was thinking of us on the way to the cross. In fact, the whole reason that He left heaven and allowed Himself to be killed by those whom He had created was for the benefit of helpless mankind.

Through it all, He was showing us how to accomplish anything of eternal value. The formula is so simple, that we continually miss it. We are called to first, find out what the will of our Father in heaven is; and then trust Him to accomplish it for us while we continually walk with Him. Being hidden from the world in that truth is how to do it.

As we study the life of Jesus, we see that His focus was on His Father’s power and on our well-being. He endured everything for the joy of knowing that His actions would set us free. Even on the cross, He was concerned for those who had driven the nails in His hands and those whose actions caused the crucifixion of the Son of God.

Luke’s account of Jesus’ time on the cross depicts three statements. The first is for those who crucified Him. The second is for the thief next to Him. The third is a statement of completion to His Father. What astounding faith in what His Father was doing, and what an astounding lesson for us! He cared more for others than He cared for Himself. In His darkest hour, Jesus had the best interests of others on His mind. He loved so deeply that His passion for us overcame His pain.

Needing to focus on everyone but me,

Jim Corbett

“Do not become complacent! You must be diligent in your pursuit of Me, so that you will have sufficient tools for the times in your path. Your world is reeling in hatred of My ways. It is exploding from within. Soon many things will not resemble the way they are now. You must learn to sit in My presence, so that you become familiar with My ways. Learn to hear My heart and move immediately. Learn My wisdom. Learn of My love for you. It will fortify you when others spew their hatred. Adjust your priorities. Make time with Me the most important tool you have to overcome your world. Make it your most important resource. Make it your most fervent desire.”

Matthew 10:38-39 AMP

38) And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conforming wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also] is not worthy of Me.

39) Whoever finds his [lower] life will lose it [the higher life], and whoever loses his [lower] life on My account will find it [the higher life].

Matthew 19:29 AMP

And anyone and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for My name’s sake will receive many [even a hundred] times more and will inherit eternal life.

 

The earth, in response to the Lord’s command, groaned and strained as if in childbirth, as a warning to those who had eyes to see or ears to hear. Natural disasters such as unparalleled storms, earthquakes, and flooding would leave many helpless and without hope. Manmade disasters such as fires, riots, rampant terrorism and unbridled crime made citizens demand something be done for the safety of the majority. Although all was, in His mercy, a fulfillment of God’s promises to reveal to mankind its helplessness without Him, and to allow those who would hear the opportunity to repent, many would scoff at the thought that He had a hand in it at all. More police, more organization, more law, more money, would become the cry. Instead of turning to God, most would turn their backs on Him all the more, with ever hardening hearts.

Those who would respond to the call to holiness and to full submission would walk in intimate fellowship with their Savior. If they chose to move selflessly and reverently with crucifixion power, they would see the wonder of God in their daily activities. An irresistible wooing, except to the most hardened heart, would become visible to the church first, and then to the ripe fields ready to produce their crop in abundance.

Open my eyes, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“At times, it will seem as if I am nowhere to be found. You will seem hemmed up in every direction and find that you have nowhere to go even if you could move. I have done this. I have you right where I want you. Sit still now and allow Me to talk to you. You are not out of My will. I am not finished with you. In fact, I am about to move you to a deeper walk and a more trustworthy position. Be still and know that I am your God. Tuck away with Me and I will impart Myself to you. Stop everything that you are doing if necessary, so that you can hear Me clearly. As you wait on Me, I will be found by you.”

Psalm 46:10 NIV

“Be still, and know that I am God…”

Psalm 62:5 AMP

My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him.

Psalm 139:5-10 NIV

5) You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.

6) Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

7) Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

8) If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9) If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10) even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

 

Rarely do we understand the intense love that the Lord has for us. Jesus died so that we could meet with God. To not do so is truly foolish. The relationship that He has provided should be the very first concern that we address as we plan our lives. It should be monitored every moment to see if anything has usurped its priority position. Nothing should be allowed to intrude on this wondrous gift.

Make it my priority, Lord,

Jim Corbett