The Heart of God – Part 2

John 1:1-3 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (NIV)

Last night I attended a worship service at my church. At the start of the service the worship leader was talking about how Jesus is described as “The Word”. The leader explained that he did not fully understand the theology of what that meant, but went on to describe what he thought.

As the worship leader was speaking, my mind focused on the “theology” of “The Word”. Over the past several years I have encountered new meaning for an amazing number of Biblical principles, in how they are connected to understanding the Trinity. Although I had considered the opening of John in regards to the Trinity in the past, last night my heart was opened to a new revelation.

Genesis 1:3 - And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (NIV)

Genesis 1:6-7 - And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. (NIV)

Genesis 1:9 - And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. (NIV)

Genesis 1:11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. (NIV)

Genesis 1:14-15 - And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. (NIV)

Genesis 1:20-21 - And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (NIV)

Genesis 1:24 - And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. (NIV)

When you look at the story of the world’s beginning, there is a clear pattern to how creation progressed. First God spoke, and then it was so. In understanding the Trinity the pattern becomes even more clear. Jesus is “The Word” (John 1:1), so when the scriptures state that God “said”, that is describing Jesus’s role in the creation process. The design of the universe began in the Heart of God (the Father), and was communicated by Jesus (God’s Soul) into the Body of God (the Holy Spirit) to become manifest into physical existence. As stated in John 1:3, without “The Word” there could have been no creation. It was “The Word” who commanded God’s Body (the Holy Spirit) to fulfill what was in His Heart (the Father).

Luke 24:49 - “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (NIV)

Mark 16:17-18 - “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (NIV)

We know that the “power from on high” Jesus promised in Luke 24:49 was the Holy Spirit received at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). Jesus also described how this “power” would be manifest in Mark 16:17-18.

We have been given the Holy Spirit, and through that gift we have access to the very same power that brought the universe into existence. However, in order to use that power we must follow the pattern that was laid out at creation. We are Christ’s representatives in this world. We are the ones who bear His name, “Christians”. We were created in His likeness and image (Genesis 1:26-27) for a reason… Just like “The Word” did in the beginning, we have been called to bring the Heart of the Father, into physical existence through the power of the Holy Spirit (God’s Body), by “speaking” forth His word, using His name.

The key to having “power from on high” that manifests in answered prayer, is “The Heart of God”. When we “speak” forth in Jesus’s name what we know is in God’s Heart, that is the only time we can be certain that God’s “creative” power will bring it into existence. But here’s the thing. It isn’t difficult at all, for us to know what is in God’s heart, and so to have access to His power.

John 16:23-26 - “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.” (NIV)

John 15:15-16 - “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” (NIV)

Jesus has already shown us the Heart of the Father. The Father’s Heart is love. The Father’s Heart is forgiveness. And the Father’s Heart is life. When we speak the Heart of the Father into this world, we draw upon God’s awesome power to create love, forgiveness, and life on earth, as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

The power of the Holy Spirit is not a matter of words. Our prayers aren’t answered because we tag “in Jesus Name” to the end of them as though it is some kind of magic word. Our prayers are answered because we connect with the Heart of God as we pray.

Make a connection with God’s Heart, and you will see the power of the Holy Spirit demonstrated.


James :)

The Heart of God

Matthew 23:37 - “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” (NIV)

God has the heart of a father. If you’ve read my post on the Trinity you will understand that I am not making a metaphorical statement; God’s “Heart” literally is “God the Father”. If you’ve read my post on The Fatherhood of God you have seen the scriptural basis that demonstrates how God’s fatherhood is not only in name, it is His character. With God’s fatherhood being a matter of fact, what do you think would happen if a person, or a church, caught hold of the heart of God?

I have been attending, participating in, and serving the same church for my entire life. I remember about 20 years ago when my church was visited by a group of young adults who were on a road trip visiting multiple churches, representing a discipleship program for young adults. They did a little singing and choreography performance, and shared a message about how God was doing a new thing in their lives.

At the time our church had the same problem typical with many churches. We had a good Sunday school and youth program, but after the youth finished high school they tended to leave the church and go their separate ways. The problem was that as the youth grew mature enough to take ownership of their own faith, they didn’t have any grounding from which to build on. It was obvious that there was something missing, but we didn’t recognize what it was until we were visited by this group of young adults, who had what we were missing; the Fathering of God. On that Sunday there was something that captured the hearts of the church leadership, and before long the entire church caught the vision.

Have you ever been to a church that lives in the Father’s heartbeat. Let me tell you there is nothing like it in the whole world. Before you even step through the doors you are overwhelmed with the love, the peace, and the passion of the Father. 20 years ago my church put the vision of fathering our next generation into action. We developed our own discipleship program modeled after the one that had visited us, and now we demonstrate that same vision all over the country, and even into other nations. We have graduated scores of young adults from our discipleship program, as Generational Leaders with impeccable character and vision. We have taken hold of fathering the next generation so strongly, that we have even changed our name to Generational Hope. The vision we planted 20 years ago has grown into a mighty tree with offspring programs in a number of churches around the world, with graduates filling leading positions in large businesses, and even with representatives in the US Congress.

What is it that has made this program grow and succeed instead of falling by the wayside like many programs at many other churches have? The Father’s heartbeat. What young adult in their right mind would voluntarily enroll in and pay their own way through a program of hard work, study, and discipline, sacrificing a year or more of their life at a time when they should be thinking about their education, career, marriage, and future? Many of these young people even come from other churches and carry burdens of family problems, abuse, drugs and every dysfunction you can imagine. Most of them have no idea what they are getting into; but they are drawn by the Father’s heart which shines on the faces of those who attended before them.

One thing is certain; they will never be the same. Have you ever seen a miracle? Every year I watch amazed as a group of broken, hurting, timid, uncertain young adults, are transformed into sons and daughters with the vision of Father God, to make all of the world His children.

Isaiah 61:1-3 - “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” (NIV)

Healed cancer, restored limbs, even raising the dead have nothing that compares to the miraculous power of God to change a person’s life. When you plug into the Power of the Blood from the Father’s Heartbeat, so that you carry the same burden as He does for His lost children, that is when you will find that no miracle is impossible.


James :)