Category: From Our Fathers Heart

        "When was the last time you were an advocate for Me? Have you defended Who I am recently? Have you upheld My Word when it was maligned by someone? Have you represented the life of Jesus when others were saying that the life of the world is the way to live? You are My representative. You are living where I have placed you with very specific people, for very specific reasons. Begin to represent Me properly in every situation. Defend My honor! Defend My plan for others! Defend the cross! Defend My heart!"

Matt.16:19 AMP

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth, must be whatever is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.

Matthew 16:24-25 AMP

24) Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also].

25) For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting].

 

So often we forget that one of the main reasons we are here on this earth is to represent God in all of our actions through Jesus. His plan is that others see Jesus in the way we live so that none will perish.

Jesus had a passion to empty Himself and live a life devoted to others. He would never lift Himself up or hold Himself in higher esteem than anyone else - even the lowliest leper. Even though He was God, He held everyone in His heart as more important than Himself; especially those who laughed at, tortured, and crucified Him. He could not be wounded by their sin; He could only see their desperate need.

In the true spirit of advocacy, Jesus also desires to see His Father put first and is constantly looking to have Him glorified. His delight is in having Father God as the object of esteem in the hearts of those He loves. All of His mortal life, and now all of His kingly life, undergirds and points to the Father. There is no "one-sidedness," however, as all of the Godhead - in unity of spirit, being one - point to each other's wealth.

As the Author and Finisher of our faith, Jesus, who functions as our advocate, delights to see us accepted and perfected. He would gladly go to the cross again and again, if He had to, so that we could prosper and be complete in His Father's love; and so that His Father would continually have the pleasure of our company. (Praise God that everything was finished once and for all at Calvary!)

With Jesus as our example, and with the Father's love flowing through us, we are to walk as advocates for our Lord, each other as believers, and then on behalf of those who have need. Our adoption into the family of God, our sonship, gives each of us the heritage and ability to do so through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Fix me, so that others see You in me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

        "If you turn your back on Me and do not listen to My Words, what can you expect your life to be? If you do not act as Jesus would act to others, how do you think your relationships will fare? When you choose to live like the world, how can I bless you? I have shown you how to live. I have given you a pattern of life to follow. His Name is Jesus.

        "Living any other way is choosing to live as the world lives. I have separated you from the world. You have been told to live in the midst of others, so they can see Jesus. You are to forgive them as I have forgiven you. You are showing them a religious, powerless person who has little resemblance to who He is. It is time for you to change. Repent now! Begin to walk as He does."

Matthew 18:21-35 NIV

21) Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"

22) Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23) "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

24) As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.

25) Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26) "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.'

27) The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28) "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.

29) "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

30) "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.

31) When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32) "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.

33) Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'

34) In anger his master turned him over to the jailers until he should pay back all he owed.

35) "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

 

So many of us ask our Lord to give us mercy, but we won't give mercy to others. We are ready to hold up the sins of others to scrutiny, yet we ask Him to cover our own. People who are spiritually blind can only see the sins of another. Even if they get to a point where they can see their own sin, they are more than willing to walk in little or no forgiveness.

God is calling His people to treat others in the same way that Jesus treated those with whom He came in contact. Most of all, He loved them. In the end, He gave up His life for them. We may not be able to physically go to the cross; but we can lay down our own imagined right to judge others, which is actually picking up our own cross and following Jesus.

Teach me to not worry about the slivers, Lord,

Jim Corbett

        "My children, you do not really understand the wonders of repentance. Most of you are afraid of humbling yourselves in front of each other to the point that you would rather keep an offense active than aggressively pursue reconciliation. It is the same way that you treat Me. You come to Me with your offenses only when I have broken your heart to the point that you can no longer stand it. Then you pour your remorse out for a moment and walk away until the next time you feel you must come. It is a vicious, unnecessary cycle. Too much wonderful fellowship is missed between times of cleansing.

        "True freedom is the wonder of living a life of repentance before each other and with Me. That kind of life is not weakness; it is true strength. It is absolute, open fellowship without any hindrances. As you come to Me instantly and often, I have ample opportunity to impart Myself to you, allow you to grow unfettered by sin; and see you remain in a humble position before Me.

        "You are allowed to continually benefit from a flow of My grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Because of the openness of this kind of interaction, My Word rings clearly in your spirit, My voice is unmistakable over the din of life; and My direction is clear, quieting all of the opposing opinions.

        "I love to see you in a constant state of forgiveness. I love to flow continuously with you through your life. I love unbroken fellowship. Keep a short account with Me concerning sin. Come to me freely and often. You will be amazed how your life changes. You will be astounded at the power I give you to overcome the world. You will find the prosperity of continuous forgiveness so rewarding that your life as it exists now will seem dull and dreary as you look back on it from a position of freedom."

Romans 8:1-2 AMP

1) Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

2) For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death.

Hebrews 10:14b NIV

...because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

 

Have you ever seen someone who cherishes something he owns, such as a new car? I don't mean someone who simply enjoys the car and drives it; I mean someone who washes, polishes, and meticulously removes every hint of dust, dirt, or even water spot. Extending that thought even further, take someone who owns a show car.

If you've never attended a custom auto show, you should. Go there, however, with the thought that sin is like a speck of dirt. Gross sin is mud. Separation from God is a demolished car and repentance is the restoring agent. Now walk the aisles as a judge who gives out the trophies would, looking for the slightest flaw or hint of imperfection. To the untrained eye, every one of the displays looks perfect. To the judge, however, any shortcut taken in the building of the car stands out like a flashing light.

It is the same with the owners. Any owner who has a tendency to cut corners, or not seek perfection, will attempt to direct the attention of the judge with some sort of flashy make-believe, actually seeing him as an adversary who needs to be overcome.

The owner who knows everything is in order anticipates and welcomes the judge, knowing his car is the best that he can make it. Both judge and owner are there for the joy of being part of the best, rather than simply getting by. They participate together, both enjoying the wonder of the perfection available and working toward that end.

If the judge should find even the slightest flaw, causing the owner to lose the trophy for that show, you can bet that the flaw will be non-existent for the next show. Finding the flaw is simply one step closer to perfection as far as the owner is concerned. It is not an indictment, but an opportunity to be better and more confident next time.

So it is with our relationship with God. We can look at our loving Father as an angry, scrutinizing judge who wants to find imperfections in us so that He can punish us for not being perfect; or we can see our relationship as a union, building a work of perfection together, and enjoying each step of the way.

The first attitude leads to legalism, fear, and a haphazard relationship. The second is a picture of cooperation, mutual goals, and intimate communication, which leads to a wondrous fellowship, absent of any hint of fear. Each "speck" of dust found is enthusiastically removed and considered grounds for intimate communication in a relationship designed to attain the best "product" available - one that glorifies the Father, represents and pleases the Son, rejoices in the comfort of the Holy Spirit and points to their perfecting work. That is true freedom!

Wanting to live in cooperation with my loving Father,

Jim Corbett

        "Did you know that doubt is one of the biggest hindrances to Our fellowship? It's true! If, first of all, you doubt that I really am who I say I am, you will never embrace all that I have done for you. If, after you come to Me through My Son, Jesus, you carry any doubt that I have totally accepted you with an unqualified love, you will wallow in a partial, fumbling existence.

        "You will never experience the kind of wonder that I have planned for you. Instead of experiencing joy and contentment, you will only be able to muddle through your life, confused and marginally happy. That breaks My heart.

        "I would ask you to focus on this one request. Place your hand in Mine and spend whatever time it takes to settle in your heart once and for all that I love you; and that I am for you, never against you. I will always be against the sin in you, but don't confuse My dealing with that sin and My caring for you. Get rid of any doubt in your heart. Throw away all your doctrinal teachings if they don't line up with My Word. Eliminate all of your traditions and teachings of man. Press in to Me and require Me to open your eyes to the truth. Seek only truth, and I will show you that truth. I will show you My heart.

        "Once you have settled in your heart that I am real and that I love you, you will finally realize the wonderful life that I have for you. If you never settle these basic truths in your heart, how can you ever expect to get to know Me? How can you ever expect to have peace? Come to Me now; I am waiting to give you truth."

Hebrews 11:6 NIV

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.

 

Let's see... While we were still sinners, God loved us. We continually fail Him, but He continually forgives us. We deserve nothing but hell, yet He sent His Son to die for us. Over and over we fail Him, but over and over He promises to forgive us. Seems too good to be true, doesn't it?

I believe that the plan of God is such astounding news, we are sometimes afraid to fully accept it. Maybe we unconsciously think that if we did, and then discovered the plan isn't really as good as the Word says it is, we'd be disappointed fools. Isn't that amazing? The God of everything has provided such wealth for us, and we set it aside as if it was too good to be true.

Let's say that a friend walked up to you and handed you a package, telling you not to open it until you got home. After rushing home, you opened the package and found a vast amount of money and a note which indicated that the money was a gift, no strings attached. You could spend it however you pleased. It went on to explain the heart of the giver and his motive for giving you the gift. After checking back with the friend and profusely thanking him, you understood that the gift was real, and it was given to you out of honest love.

What if, however, you never spent the money, thinking it was too good to be true; and you lived in fear that someday the friend might ask you to return it? How foolish would that be?

In a very small way, that is how foolish it is to doubt God in any way. Over and over, He has written in His Word about the strength of His character, His love for us, and His astounding desire to bless us. Over and over, we refuse to believe that He really loves us enough to supply us with all that He has made available.

Wanting to no longer offend my Lord,

Jim Corbett

        "Someone mentioned you to Me today. His life was changed because of something you said or did for someone you knew. He didn't know that person, but his friend knew the person that you touched deeply and shared that person's experience. You have no idea how much that pleases Me. Someone is changed, because you have decided to represent Jesus to those around you. I will take it from there.

        "Every gift you offer, no matter how insignificant it seems to you, is amplified through My Holy Spirit and broadcast as often and as loud as necessary, so that My life is brought to those who are hungry for it. You touch many by simply touching those I call you to reach. I am blessed by you affecting even one other person in the Name of Jesus. I love how you are starting to live. Thank you!"

II Cor. 5:20-21 AMP

20) So we are Christ's ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ's personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God.

21) For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].

 

As I was writing this Father's Heart message, I began thinking about several people who have affected my life immensely. I began to remember that some of those whom I respected used to talk of people who had great impact on their lives. For the last several minutes, the thought has come to me that the people my friends used to talk about probably talked of people who gave spiritual wealth to them many years before.

You know, it really began with One very important life, who lived His life in front of twelve, who lived like Him before thousands, who lived that same life in front of countless numbers, who then showed it to my friends, who showed Jesus to me. My job is to represent the life of Jesus to as many as I can, who will then show it to others. You have the same lineage.

Thank You for those who have gone before us and given such wealth to their friends, Lord,

Jim Corbett