Date of message: 30 November
2003 Issue
120
Subject: We Have A Part Of God Inside Us
Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),
It is amazing that the terrain of Jerusalem resembled so very closely
the Hebrew alphabet of shin ( ? )* as we saw last week. No wonder we read
so much about Jerusalem in the Bible and how the Lord God would long for
His own people, the children of Israel, to return to that land and dwell
there.
What is more amazing is that the alphabet also resembled a very important
organ that God created inside each of us - our hearts. No wonder God inserted
part of the 'minutes' of His divine Council Meeting so that we can know
for a certainty that it was indeed part of His divine plan and that it
was not some accident of creation.
In Genesis 1: 26, God the Father spoke to His Son and the Holy Spirit
and decided that they will create mankind after their own image. The New
Living Translation Bible puts it across as, 'Then God said, "Let
us make people (man) in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be
masters over all life - the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and
all livestock, wild animals, (all the earth) and small animals.'
I know many of us would interpret that verse as man being created with
a spirit unlike all the rest of God's creation which do not have any spirit.
Indeed I would ascribe to that as well. However in addition to that, I
chose to believe that He created us special in that He imprinted something
else within each of us akin to placing a seal on our body to signify that
we have a part of Him in us.
Last week I shared that the Hebrew name of our Lord Jesus is Yeshua and
is written thus ???? (remember that the Hebrew is written from right to
left)
The alphabet 'shin' is the second letter in the name of Jesus and comparing
the alphabet with the wall lining of the heart, we would be able to see
from the picture above (basically the cross-section of our heart) that
God planted the alphabet there.
Now that gives me a new meaning to the sentence, "Man has been created
in the image of God". Indeed we bear His very presence in our hearts
because the alphabet is often used to represent the "Presence of
El Shaddai" (the all-sufficient God).
Further, scriptures go on and testify to the awesome fact that our Lord
Jesus longs to dwell in our hearts: -
" Ephesians 3:17-19 -
17. that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being
rooted and grounded in love,
18. may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and
length and depth and height
19. to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be
filled with all the fullness of God.
" Ezekiel 36:26 - I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit
within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give
you a heart of flesh.
" 2 Cor 6:16 - And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will
dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall
be My people".
Mankind has always been involved in the spiritual realm and will not stop
his search until he finds his own object of worship (whatever that may
be). Unless his spirit finds his own fulfillment in the Spirit of God,
the human spirit will continue to roam and search for its true identity.
I recall my own search when, as a young teenager, I would accompany my
own mother (who was not a believer in Jesus at that time but thanks be
to God, she herself had received Him into her heart a few years later)
to the Taoist temple on every Chinese festival to offer sacrifices and
to pray for protection and prosperity. I recall looking around the temple
grounds and studying every object of worship that could be found there
and not finding peace in that form of worship. My spirit did not find
its match in those idols because they were inanimate objects devoid of
life.
But thanks to the Lord, when I found Him He gave me complete satisfaction.
The feeling of peace overcame my spirit and I knew my search had ended
for I have found my own missing link. When I gave my heart over to the
Lord, He came into my life and took up residence in my heart.
Our Lord Jesus came into this world and died for all our sin and when
we believe on Him and receive Him into our hearts, He will come into our
lives and make His dwelling there in our hearts. The very niche that was
created for Himself would then be occupied by the rightful Owner.
Have you found your own peace with the Lord God? It is a very simple thing
to do - all that is required is to believe in what Jesus did for us on
the cross; that He died in our place and thus satisfied all the requirements
of the Law of God and as a result, we can become His children.
My friends, one day, after all the Christians have been taken home to
be with the Lord, and should you by any chance be reading this article,
be assured that Jesus loves you so much that He already demonstrated His
love for you on the cross. The price had already been paid and therefore
there will be no condemnation for you once you put your faith in Him but
you will have eternal life (Romans 8:1). The Lord cannot lie. For Him,
whatever He speaks will come to pass.
Pray this simple prayer to invite Jesus into your heart and immediately
you will experience His peace coming your way.
Thank you Heavenly Father that when You created us, You left a niche for
Yourself in each one of us so that You can come and dwell inside us and
fill that vacuum. Thank you that You love us so much that while we were
still far off You sent Your only Beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, to
die for all our sin and because of His death and resurrection, I have
been forgiven and now I am set free. Thank you that I am no longer condemned
but I am now a child of God,
Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into my heart and taking up residence
in the place where You have always wanted to be and for giving me the
Holy Spirit to remind me of my very special position as a child of God
the Father. Thank you that as Your child, I can now start enjoying all
Your blessings for my life. Thank you also for the wonderful gifts that
the Holy Spirit brings along with Him and for imparting those gifts into
my life.
Thank you because of what You had accomplished for us on the cross and
having risen from the dead for our justification, I am now eternally forgiven
of all my sin, greatly blessed among all men, a highly favored child of
God, deeply loved by the Father and completely protected in the Lord and
in the most precious name of Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha' Mashiah, I pray.
Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family
of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important
that you are not alone facing your personal challenges but that you can
obtain good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your
own local Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together?
You will be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father,
for fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
Start receiving the blessings of the Father as you walk with Him in faith.
It is your inheritance in Christ and He wants you to start enjoying these
blessings right now. You do not need to wait until you reach heaven and
there is more from where they come from.
And my friend, continue to exercise the gift of praying in tongues and
with the usage, more gifts of the Holy Spirit will be imparted to you.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all
your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.
Numbers 6: 24-26
Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee
This and other archived messages can also be found on
the following URL
http://www.oocities.org/fibredrive/index.htm
Footnote
* In case you are wondering how I managed to type the Hebrew alphabet
onto this word document, I discovered that under MSWord 97 you can get
the alphabets by making use of "insert symbol" function and
setting the 'subset' to 'Basic Hebrew'. Remember Mr. Bill Gates himself
is a Jew and therefore He would have included that language into his own
computer language.