PURSUE: Communion

We have opened up the year with the discussion of PURSUE, or pursuing God this year. The purpose is to individually find what the Lord wants to do in each of our lives and work in us through the year.

That is not possible if we do not pursue the Lord!!!

We started off by talking about going for something bigger!!! Pursue the Lord over the pursuits of this earth because nothing will come close --- remember - the pursuit of this world is DOG POOP in comparison!

Last week, we came back in and talked about pursuing conviction! We start off pursuit with discovering what needs to change, adjust or getting rid of what clogs up our walk with the Lord!

This week I want us to take the next step and PURSUE COMMUNION!!!

Luke 10:27 NLT

27 The man answered, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

This is the greatest commandment — if it is the greatest commandment, shouldn’t that be our greatest PURSUIT?

Do we only partially PURSUE the LORD????

We always focus on a half hearted pursuit, but I am talking about a whole person pursuit!!!!

John 10:10 NLT

10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Did Jesus just mean an eternal life? Did he just mean a spiritual life? Did he just mean a material life?

A FULL LIFE - would be the incorporation of all things, the eternal, the corporeal and the spiritual realm.... our whole person - will, affections, mind, body ----

One of the most notorious heresies that came up in Christianity that Paul and Peter and John wrote about was Gnosticism - it was not mentioned by name, but the heresy was continuously being addressed.

Gnosis - which means knowledge - was often rooted in secret knowledge stemming from the pagan philosophies of the day.

Historic Gnosticism said the material word and the body were immoral and needed to be denied to have a higher spiritual knowledge. It also saw the creation of the world as not being from the Lord, but a lower god and that it was tainted - it separated body and spirit in many ways.

Jesus came to redeem the WHOLE PERSON ---

Just think of Romans 8:11

Romans 8:11 NLT

11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Luke 4:18–19 NLT

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, 19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

Think of this - Jesus healed people physically, he saves our souls spiritually, the culmination of all things is when our physical man is restored with our spirit man completely for eternity to live out in a new heaven and earth - a NEW EDEN you could say… untainted by sin.

There is a full element of our whole being that is touched now.

There is however what is being identified as:

Evangelical Gnosticism -

it is not the focus on the spiritual but the material — part of it comes from Western Naturalism.

Through modernity - science has caused society to deny spirituality - true spirituality which is in the Creator God and salvation through Jesus.

We look at laws of nature for the existence and consistence of the earth and universe — and naturalism denies a Sovereign God —

This has crept into Evangelical faith!

We come to worship and let our spirit meet with God on Sunday, but then spend the remainder of our existence fighting out live in the material world and not addressing things of a material world with spiritual solutions or answers.

Physical medicine, monies, human thought and science — denying the spiritual side of things. We first look to human and practical solutions before ever considering the Lord in the equation.

I am reading a book by Brian Fikkert - he talks of teaching at a Christian University - the brightest and best of evangelical youth — raised in Christian schools, homes, churches, etc.

Over several years he asked students what they do when they begin searching for a job.

What a basic question and concept.

Their answers were make a resume, contact connections maybe parental connections, and over several years, these young and bright Christian students never responded with the exception of 1 in 750 - to PRAY!

Fikkert used this disconnect between the SPIRITUAL dimension we have available to us with the Lord and our living out daily life.

I dare say this was not the abundant life Jesus was thinking about.

We have become flatlander Christians ---

Think of a board game - Settlers of Catan or Risk - everything is flat, even when you put something on the board if you were living on the board you would only see the bottom of what connected to the flat part of the board unaware of everything going on up above the board.

This is how Evangelical Gnostics live life --- talk about God, even come to church and worship God, but only encounter the flat part that touches the board in a two dimensional existence and unaware of the entire third dimension that exists and operates above the surface.

True Communion allows the third dimension and incorporates all dimensions of who God created us to be - body, mind, affection, will - the whole person!!! So we experience the fullness of a satisfying life here and the promise of a fully restored person in eternity.

Not just an ethereal presence in heaven - but an expectation and awaiting the return of Christ and resurrection of the dead where we are fully restored for eternity.

Our relationship with the LORD was intended to have this TRUE COMMUNION NOW!!!!

1. ENGAGING THE BODY

I want to talk about worshipping the Lord and seeking Him with our material, or corporeal being!!!

Most Christians extent of this is bowing their head or kneeling. If Pentecostal you may raise your hands too or even dance a little - thinking this is physical praise to the Lord - which it is but very limited.

We however in the contemporary church have almost fully lost a practice of both the Jewish faith and Christians throughout the centuries that brought the whole person into communion with the Lord.

FASTING!

Somewhere we began seeing fasting as something only those in the Bible did, or that monks who took on an ascetic body denial life did, or only something to do when we are in a dire circumstance and need to demand a desperate answer from God.

Fasting is not denying food to demand an answer from God, especially not the answer we think is right!

Fasting can be and is exemplified in Scripture to be a response to a sacred and/or grievous moment...

For example - when the decree to destroy the Jews came out, Ester called a fast.

Fasting is not denying some foods and allowing others, or turning off the TV or computer, etc.

A fast is the absence of food/calorie (only water) for a period of time to allow our body to come into submission to the Lord and it in some way supernaturally allows our spirit man to come into a deeper connection with the Lord.

It is a form of worshipping the LORD with our bodies, or material man.

Let’s face it --- we spend 90% of our lives focused on this material man, how we dress it, feed it, provide for it, allow it to be pleasured --- yet we do not use this physical part of our being to WORSHIP the LORD!

Jewish people regularly fasted two days a week. This is what was in the back of the minds of those who asked Jesus why His disciples do not fast...

Jesus response

Luke 5:34–35 NLT

34 Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. 35 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

What, He will be taken away and then they will fast...

Did you know the early church and in reality Christianity practiced fasting two days a week throughout the centuries…?

They fasted on a different day then Jewish fasting, but they still fasted ---

Why? To worship the Lord with their physical man and allow it to be brought into unity with the spirit man - the whole person worshipping God.

It was not fasting to get something, but denying the physical as worship...

They did not go weeks and months or even 24 hours...

The normal fast was to rise in the morning and not eat until after 3pm or the evening meal. No limitation even on the sun setting the night before...

Something happens spiritually to us when we surrender our physical man to the Lord, and we are able to commune with God in our entirety as a person.

It just makes sense!

2. ENGAGING THE HEART AND MIND

This one is so simple - we hear it ALL THE TIME...

To pray and read the Scripture....

Prayer is allowing our heart to sync with the Lord and the Word is allowing our MIND to learn of Him.

Psalm 119:105 NLT

105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

Ephesians 5:26 NLT

26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.

Psalm 119:9 NLT

9 How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word.

Psalm 9:1 NLT

1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.

Psalm 111:1 NLT

1 Praise the Lord! I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT

17 Never stop praying.

Let’s talk about this for a moment....

Some of you may have a great prayer life and you engage praying, praising and reading the Word of God daily in your life....

But think about this for a minute....

SO many come to church for someone else to feed them on Sunday and never touch that Bible, pray, ask the Lord for spiritual guidance throughout our week.

We assume the laws of nature, rather than the CREATOR who created those laws and ensure they are sustained over creations, is just going to let life go along so we don’t inquire of him, surrender to Him, seek Him or incorporate Him into our flatlander lives!

There is an entire dimension of the supernatural and spiritual natural that exists but we ignore and never commune with other than an hour or so a week if that.

We do not inquire of the Lord for decisions, behavior, choices, or allow His Word to guide our actions and path every day. We just go about stuff in our own ability denying Him the role He wants to play in our lives.

We ignore His direction in our actions and choices, our pleasures, and celebrations, etc.

Is this communion with our Creator??? Savior??? Soon Coming King???

Revelation 3:20 NLT

20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

We talk about regarding salvation - but in reality this is How Jesus wants to interact with us every day and throughout the day!!!

If we pursue the Lord with dedicated prayer, praise and time listening to the Word - in our daily life - not just on Sunday, we invite Him into daily walk and not just act like an Evangelical Gnostic!

3. ENGAGING THE SPIRIT

Our spirit man is the WILL part of our existence - the choice maker and not just the knowledge gatherer.

However, when I say engaging the Spirit - I mean His Holy Spirit!

The baptism of the Holy Spirit, that secondary experience from salvation is that place where we yield ourselves fully so the Lord can integrate body, mind and spirit through HIS SPIRIT!!!!

It is the filling of His supernatural power that brings ultimate communion in His presence now flowing in and out of us.

Acts 2:1–4 NLT

1 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

This was the place where Jesus gives us the gift of the fullness of His Spirit

We don’t seek tongues - we seek and pursue Jesus, and when He overflows our lives - we find OUR WHOLE PERSON coming together in His plan of redemption and released to abundance.

John 7:37–39 NLT

37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ ” 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

Think of it :

Our material, physical man is yielded and surrendered as our mouths praise the Lord in other languages

Our wills are yielded allowing Him full control over our lives

Our minds are guided through the truth of the advocate, comforter, teacher - the Spirit

We are whole as people in communion with God as we were created to be before the fall of man and awaiting the final resurrection and union of a glorified body, mind, spirit for eternity.

CONCLUSION

The Lord has BIG PLANS for you and your life --- good plans - there are amazing things He wants to do in your life this year!

After pursuing conviction, let’s pursue HIM!!!!

PURSUE the LORD with your entire being!

Fast

Pray, Praise and get into the Word

Allow the Holy Spirit to integrate your whole person in the pursuit

AND experience all the Lord has for you!!!