"The
promises were not given to tease. They were given to be fulfilled. You
have to lay hold of the promises yourself and make them personal."
-Pastor Tommy Burchfield
-Like I did for so long, you may ask, "How do I make them personal? I mean, I see it there. I believe it is true. I just don't see it in my life. What is wrong?"
Those truths must rise above mental assent. That means they are fact in your mind but not truth in your heart. Pay close attention to the way you are talking. That will reveal a lot to you. What responses are you regularly leaning toward? What is coming from your heart.
You may say, "But, if something is a fact in my mind, then how can it not be truth in my heart? That doesn't make since. I say what I say but I don't think about it. It doesn't mean anything as far as what I believe. Are you saying I don't believe the Bible because I do!"
What I am saying is....
If someone compliments the way you look, do you take it to heart and from that moment on believe it to be an absolute truth? Or do you take that and think, "That's sweet of them. I'm glad they see me that way. It doesn't change the way I view myself." At that moment, you didn't say they are lying. You are saying that their comment does not weigh more than your perspective. -Many times the Bible can be viewed the same way. "Yeah, I know what the Bible says but this is truth." -If that is the way you view it right now then, don't condemn yourself. Just use that as a marker and light shed so that you know where to grow in.
As for what other people say, it does depend on the weight a person carries in our mind's eye. It also takes a flushing out of what you have believed. It didn't take one day to form your perspective so it will take more than one compliment to undo it. The Bible says, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So we must hear and hear and hear and hear.....and hear and hear. - hear what? Hear what God says...hear His Word. Then, one day, that truth will become YOUR truth!!! A joy will flood and pour out from your spirit into your senses and you will actually feel it...you will know it. I am not saying faith is a feeling. I am saying that when your heart is full and the truth is in there, when it flows out from you, you will have that assurance. There will be a filling. There will be a security. There will be a LOVE... and you will 'feel' or sense it's presence. You will have a joy unspeakable and full of glory. It will consume your demeanor. I will change your behavior. I will effect ALL you do. You will notice it's effect throughout all your senses because it is the Word alive and living in you now.
It starts with God's love. The Bible says, faith works by love. Here is a great test. Look at yourself in the mirror and say, "God loves me!" -what did you feel rise up when you said that? Well, unless you felt that love swell up from within and encompass you and bring you a joy and a knowing that He is right there with you... you need to keep going with that confession. You can claim it. You can thank Him for loving you. You can say, "I know He loves me because...."
The moment that love engulfs you, you will know. - YOU WILL KNOW. That is the first step to making the Bible personal. Then, you can read the Bible and it starts to become alive. You can read, "For God so loved the world that He gave..." and you realize, God gave for me. God gave to me. God gave me...and God loves me. You will laugh. You will cry. You may even weep. ...and weep again. and maybe even again. Your eyes will be awaken to see His great grace...and more emotions will come forth as you respond to the truth made real in your life. You will get so excited you may laugh out loud, shout, jump. ...and keep jumping. I have spent many nights where I am listening to a sermon when the rest of the family is asleep and I just can't stay in bed. It's similar to a person who is listening to a game on the radio, I will be jumping for joy and thanksgiving when that great truth is received. It will always look similar...and if you haven't experienced it, just keep going. Before you know it, you will be in a different world...much like a couple walking on a date, oblivious to what is going on around them and at peace with anything that happens. Then, like the need for oxygen, you start looking for more promises, more truths, more scriptures. You will feed upon it. You will crave it. You will NEED it! You will experience a love so great that it is overwhelming. THIS IS THE LOVE WE ARE TO LOVE FROM. Until you have it, you will not be able to give it or live from it. Try it. It will change your life!!! I promise!
You can NOT look at it collectively. You can not pass this on for others before first basking in it wholly yourself... you must...must take this for you. I have done it. I do it. I bask in this great love. I take the boys to the park just to walk the fields and talk to Him flowing in this love. I sing out of this love, I cry unto Him in this love, I pray and talk to Him secure in this love. I love and need and take in and rest in this love. I absolutely can't even function without the truth of this love. Its like a dance. ...a beautiful demonstration of giving and receiving and two coming together as one... It's personal. My whole hope in planted on this love. ...and finally, once I gained enough strength and security in this love can I share it with others.
So often Christians wonder why they can't share salvation or their Jesus...well, rest in Him long enough and you will naturally share Him. You won't be able to keep from sharing Him. You in Him and Him in you... it becomes so much a part of who you are that you can't be separated anymore....and then, you can really see chains fall and promises become a personal reality. Abide in Him and let His Word abide in you.
Once this happens, the name of Jesus also becomes more precious and valuable to you. You will rest on it, rely on it, use it, find salvation in it. You will only say what the Bible says. The Bible will be so much more than a book but instead it is your personal letter from your Father. It is precious and holy and sacred and cherished. You will also notice a compassion for humanity and a love for those who are not loving back. -This is making the promises yours...this is knowing and becoming His. Love can save you or pride can keep you from it. -But there is a life so filling and so freeing in Him that there is nothing that can compare!!
-Like I did for so long, you may ask, "How do I make them personal? I mean, I see it there. I believe it is true. I just don't see it in my life. What is wrong?"
Those truths must rise above mental assent. That means they are fact in your mind but not truth in your heart. Pay close attention to the way you are talking. That will reveal a lot to you. What responses are you regularly leaning toward? What is coming from your heart.
You may say, "But, if something is a fact in my mind, then how can it not be truth in my heart? That doesn't make since. I say what I say but I don't think about it. It doesn't mean anything as far as what I believe. Are you saying I don't believe the Bible because I do!"
What I am saying is....
If someone compliments the way you look, do you take it to heart and from that moment on believe it to be an absolute truth? Or do you take that and think, "That's sweet of them. I'm glad they see me that way. It doesn't change the way I view myself." At that moment, you didn't say they are lying. You are saying that their comment does not weigh more than your perspective. -Many times the Bible can be viewed the same way. "Yeah, I know what the Bible says but this is truth." -If that is the way you view it right now then, don't condemn yourself. Just use that as a marker and light shed so that you know where to grow in.
As for what other people say, it does depend on the weight a person carries in our mind's eye. It also takes a flushing out of what you have believed. It didn't take one day to form your perspective so it will take more than one compliment to undo it. The Bible says, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So we must hear and hear and hear and hear.....and hear and hear. - hear what? Hear what God says...hear His Word. Then, one day, that truth will become YOUR truth!!! A joy will flood and pour out from your spirit into your senses and you will actually feel it...you will know it. I am not saying faith is a feeling. I am saying that when your heart is full and the truth is in there, when it flows out from you, you will have that assurance. There will be a filling. There will be a security. There will be a LOVE... and you will 'feel' or sense it's presence. You will have a joy unspeakable and full of glory. It will consume your demeanor. I will change your behavior. I will effect ALL you do. You will notice it's effect throughout all your senses because it is the Word alive and living in you now.
It starts with God's love. The Bible says, faith works by love. Here is a great test. Look at yourself in the mirror and say, "God loves me!" -what did you feel rise up when you said that? Well, unless you felt that love swell up from within and encompass you and bring you a joy and a knowing that He is right there with you... you need to keep going with that confession. You can claim it. You can thank Him for loving you. You can say, "I know He loves me because...."
The moment that love engulfs you, you will know. - YOU WILL KNOW. That is the first step to making the Bible personal. Then, you can read the Bible and it starts to become alive. You can read, "For God so loved the world that He gave..." and you realize, God gave for me. God gave to me. God gave me...and God loves me. You will laugh. You will cry. You may even weep. ...and weep again. and maybe even again. Your eyes will be awaken to see His great grace...and more emotions will come forth as you respond to the truth made real in your life. You will get so excited you may laugh out loud, shout, jump. ...and keep jumping. I have spent many nights where I am listening to a sermon when the rest of the family is asleep and I just can't stay in bed. It's similar to a person who is listening to a game on the radio, I will be jumping for joy and thanksgiving when that great truth is received. It will always look similar...and if you haven't experienced it, just keep going. Before you know it, you will be in a different world...much like a couple walking on a date, oblivious to what is going on around them and at peace with anything that happens. Then, like the need for oxygen, you start looking for more promises, more truths, more scriptures. You will feed upon it. You will crave it. You will NEED it! You will experience a love so great that it is overwhelming. THIS IS THE LOVE WE ARE TO LOVE FROM. Until you have it, you will not be able to give it or live from it. Try it. It will change your life!!! I promise!
You can NOT look at it collectively. You can not pass this on for others before first basking in it wholly yourself... you must...must take this for you. I have done it. I do it. I bask in this great love. I take the boys to the park just to walk the fields and talk to Him flowing in this love. I sing out of this love, I cry unto Him in this love, I pray and talk to Him secure in this love. I love and need and take in and rest in this love. I absolutely can't even function without the truth of this love. Its like a dance. ...a beautiful demonstration of giving and receiving and two coming together as one... It's personal. My whole hope in planted on this love. ...and finally, once I gained enough strength and security in this love can I share it with others.
So often Christians wonder why they can't share salvation or their Jesus...well, rest in Him long enough and you will naturally share Him. You won't be able to keep from sharing Him. You in Him and Him in you... it becomes so much a part of who you are that you can't be separated anymore....and then, you can really see chains fall and promises become a personal reality. Abide in Him and let His Word abide in you.
Once this happens, the name of Jesus also becomes more precious and valuable to you. You will rest on it, rely on it, use it, find salvation in it. You will only say what the Bible says. The Bible will be so much more than a book but instead it is your personal letter from your Father. It is precious and holy and sacred and cherished. You will also notice a compassion for humanity and a love for those who are not loving back. -This is making the promises yours...this is knowing and becoming His. Love can save you or pride can keep you from it. -But there is a life so filling and so freeing in Him that there is nothing that can compare!!
