I Just Want You

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth, and does not live in temples made by human hands.  Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He himself gives all men life and breath and everything else." - Acts 17:34-25

I was sitting on the balcony of my mother-in-law's condo on the Florida coast, watching the sun rise over boats motoring across the causeway and birds sailing overhead.  I prayed in the spirit (in tongues) and invited God's presence.  I saw a vision of angels gathering around me in prayer, so I released them to their spiritual assignments in the heavenly realms.  Opening my hands to receive His presence, I felt a surge of energy and heat flowing through my hands.

In that perfect moment, feeling the amazing love in God's presence, I wanted so badly to do something for God, so I asked Him, "What do you want or need from me?"  He replied, "Son, I just want you."

What a freeing statement - to know that God wants nothing more than a relationship with us.  Even though this revelation should be obvious when you think about it, we all get caught in the trap of humanity, where our worth is measured by our performance and accomplishments.  For example, when Jesus was transfigured in front of Peter, James, and John, and Elijah and Moses appeared to talk with Jesus, Peter's reaction was to say, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here.  Let us put up three shelters, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."  Peter did this because "they were all so terrified that Peter did not know what else to say." (Mark 9:5-6)

This shows us that our natural human tendency is to do something instead of what God really wants, which is just to be with us.  When you think about your own children, wouldn't you react the same way? Aren't your favorite moments with your children the times when they just wanted to sit your lap and be held? And if one of them asked you, "What do you need or want from me?", wouldn't you also just want them to stay still and remain in your arms? Instead, we get up from God's presence and go about our tasks of doing to obtain favor from God, when all He wanted was to hold us a little longer.

The spirit of the Antichrist wants us to be caught up in doing versus being, and it causes us to be drawn to the false religions that exist today.  Reinhard Bonnke, a well-know evangelist, said this, "When I stand up to preach the Gospel, I often preach to people who have no idea who God is, because they worship idols, very terrible idols.  They spread the table for their gods.  And I tell them, the Christian God does it the other way around - He spreads the table for His children.  And in the other religions, the people always seek God, but in the Christian faith, God seeks man."

Christians can just as easily get trapped in a religion of doing versus being, as we think ritual or works gets us into right relationship with God.  But we'll never be good enough on our own to be in right standing with God - only Jesus, who became sin for us on the cross, can bridge the gap and bring us to the Father in good standing.

Jesus has already done everything needed to bring you into relationship with the Father.  So free yourself from the expectation that God needs or wants something from you - He just wants you!

"Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have opened.  Burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require.  Then I said, "Here I am, I have come - it it written about me in the scroll: I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart." - Psalm 40:6-7

- Adam Gellert
adamgellert.com

The Living God - A Guest Blog by John W. Nichols

A guest blog from friend and author John W. Nichols:

Once again, I’ve come to the realization that I need Jesus. It’s times like these I’m comforted by the fact I worship the living God—He who speaks, sees, hears, smells, feels, and walks. But I have to confess I often act as if He isn’t present or interested. I lay down at night too many times having settled with rote prayers and not giving Him room in the conversation. If you too ever fall into this, would you pray with me?

“I’m sorry, God, for making You interrupt me instead of seeking You. When I call, I will remember You answer.”

Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
They have mouths, but they cannot speak;
They have eyes, but they cannot see;
They have ears, but they cannot hear;
They have noses, but they cannot smell;
They have hands, but they cannot feel;
They have feet, but they cannot walk;
They cannot make a sound with their throat.
Those who make them will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.

You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
He will bless those who fear the Lord,
The small together with the great.
May the Lord give you increase,
You and your children.
May you be blessed of the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth.

—Psalm 115:4-8, 11-15 NASB

I need Him right now and I know I’m not alone in this. I need His whisper of direction. I need to look in His eyes and see Him nod while listening to my prayer. I need to hear the woosh of His breath as He inhales my fragrant offering of worship. I need to lay on His chest, like the disciple Jesus loved, and know He feels my adoration. I need Him to run with me in excitement. I need the living God.

Some things that get in our way from experiencing God:

• We do all the talking. We don’t do this with our personal relationships, we shouldn’t do it to God either.
• We don’t listen because we know what we want Him to say or we think we wouldn’t like what He has to say. God’s plans are what’s best for us. Even when we don’t know it or feel it—we want what He desires for us.
• If we’re honest, we don’t make an effort to seek Him, wait on Him, and listen. It’s not enough to say a daily prayer at night or read a one year Bible plan or devotional. It takes a sacrifice of time to seek God with a genuine heart.

The living God wants to interact with us, and we desperately need Him to. For those who want more on this topic along with practical tips, I’ve recorded a 40-minute teaching on communing with Jesus, the ways He speaks, and walking in His plans for your life. It’s called "God is Trying to Tell You Something" and you can get it free here.

John W. Nichols

GodAndYouAndMe.com

Author of GOD is HERE: Finding God in the Pain of a Broken World. Get the FREE audiobook and ebook here.

He Is Not Your Friend - Dealing With Demonic Spirits

"And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." - Joel 2:32

The depression and negativity set in slowly.  Like anything that happens gradually,  I didn't realize I was trapped in it until the chains were too thick and strong to get out of them easily.  As I allowed myself to be convinced of the lies about my worth, my purpose, my relationship with God, the goodness of God, and any hope for the future, I woke up one day wondering how long it's been like this.  I couldn't point to the time when I was happy, or was I ever happy?  Maybe it's always been there.

And strangely, the depression provided comfort.  I could physically feel it blanketing me like a cloak.  And it's okay that it's there, because I'm not to blame for my circumstances - God did this, or my boss, or my spouse, or my parents.  Or if it was my fault, what could I do about it now?  I was winning at some point there, but life happened, and now any hope for getting out of this situation is circling the drain. Like Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, "Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless!"  At least I have heaven to look forward to, so I guess I'll just bide my time with the hand I've been dealt until I reach that place of bliss.

Despite the amazing things that I had been blessed with in my life, all the books I'd read, the freedom classes and programs I'd attended, the songs I heard on the radio every day, and the Word of God I read regularly, this is the place I'd found myself in.

But then I saw a video on YouTube titled, "How Demons Can Cause Negative Thinking" and decided to check it out.  Derek Prince, a pastor who specialized in deliverance ministry until his passing in 2003, had a similar period of depression that he couldn't shake, despite prayer and fasting, and reading the Word.  To become free, he found Isaiah 61:3's reference to putting on "the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness," and learned that 80% of the battle is realizing that his depression came from a person (demon), not himself.  There are some areas of bondage that originate from our earthly flesh and sin nature, but many times a demon is responsible for the onslaught of negative emotions - depression, anger, loneliness, fear - that we allow into our thought life.  And if we permit those negative emotions to take root through agreement, it can take us down a dangerous path.

The other 20% of the way to deliverance comes from calling on the name of the Lord (Joel 2:32).  So as Derek led the audience in prayer, I prayed his prayer along with them:

"Lord Jesus Christ, I believe you are the son of God and the only way to God.  That you died on the cross for my sins and rose again from the dead.  I now confess to you any sins for which  you have made me conscious, and for all sins committed by my ancestors.  (Confess any sins the Holy Spirit brings to your mind). Lord, I repent of all sins I have ever committed. I hate them and I turn from them.  I turn to you Lord Jesus for mercy and forgiveness.  

If I have been involved in the occult, I repent and I renounce it.  I severe myself from it through the blood of Jesus.  If I have occult objects in my possession, I commit myself to get rid of them.  

Lord, I forgive any person who has ever harmed or wronged me.  I forgive them, just as you forgive me.  (Name the persons you need to forgive.  The one that is hardest is the one you most need to say.).  

Lord, to the best of my ability, I have met your conditions and I now claim your promise: "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be delivered."  I am calling on you now.  In the name of the Lord Jesus, deliver me from all evil spirits.  I hate them.  They are not my friends.  They are my enemies and I command them to go from me now, in the name of Jesus."

Praying over the audience in commanding the demons present to leave, Derek said something I had never heard before: "He is not your friend.  You hate him.  He has to go.  Get out!"

What a strange thing to say! Of course he is not your friend.  But the following morning, while driving to work, I went into my place of depression as I prepared for another difficult day of work.  And I felt myself "putting on a cloak" as I mentally shifted into my now familiar state of depression.  But something interesting happened - it wasn't there! I could physically feel that it was gone, and from everything I had heard the night before in the video, it all suddenly made sense.  It was a spirit that I had allowed to become part of my identity, even if it was destructive.  And it was surprisingly difficult to let go - I even found myself "missing" the feeling when I realized it was gone, because it was an easy excuse to remain in my present situation.  This aligns to other accounts of demonic oppression I had read about, where the first step in casting out the spirit is that the person has to want it to leave.

Do you have any demonic spirits that have become part of your identity? Demons with names like Anger, Depression, Fear, Rebellion, Pride, Loneliness, or Rejection?  Or maybe they are "familiar" spirits that have been passed on to you from your family line with a history of addiction, mental illness, or dealing with the occult.  Pray the prayer I shared above, and tell it to go. He is not your friend.  You hate him.  And invite your true friend, the Holy Spirit, to come into that space in it's place, so you can experience the fullness of joy in Christ.

(For more resources and help with your freedom journey, visit Gateway Church's Freedom page here.You can also view Derek Prince's deliverance video in Part 1 and Part 2, or contact me for any other help you may need!)

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 

- 2 Corinthians 3:17

- Adam Gellert
adamgellert.com