Part 8 Taken, Blessed, Broken and Given: The Baptism of Fire

"Snuggle in God's arms.
When you are hurting, when you feel lonely, left out
let Him cradle you, comfort you, reassure you
of His all-sufficient power and love."

Kay Arthur

Taken, Blessed, Broken and Given: The Baptism of Fire Part 8

● God’s voice carries with it a unique sweetness

● This is the secret place of intimate worship of God

“Your lips, O my [promised] bride, drop honey as the honeycomb;
honey and milk are under your tongue.
And the odor of your garments is like the odor of Lebanon.”
Song of Solomon 4:11

● Worship is our response to the love of God’s heart

● God’s Word never leads us to a pit of despair
where we wallow in sin and separation from God

● He always calls us back to His table

● Although He will confront us, He never condemns us.

● He wants to remove everything
that separates us from Him.

● We are drawn back again to His sweetness
as we are drawn to honey

● Any word that pushes away from God
is not His word, but the lie of the enemy.

Summary of Psalm 19:7-10 - The Character and Effects of God’s Voice
□ Healing – Inviting me to God Himself

□ Clear – Allowing me to respond

□ Right – Giving me Joy

□ Pure – Enlightening me about myself

□ Enduring – True, righteous, clean – giving me confidence

□ Desirable – Sweet - drawing me close, resulting in worship

Many Christians have a wrong view of God…

□ The yin – yang Chinese philosophy
the symbol represents the concept of yin yang
Yin and yang are complementary opposites within a greater whole.
According to this philosophy
Everything has both yin and yang aspects
which constantly interact, never existing in absolute stasis...

There is no equal opposite of God.

While satan opposes God he is not in any sense equal to Him in power or wisdom.

□ God has no opposite. There is no power or force
that comes even remotely close

to God’s power or authority.

□ Contending Forces
Some contend that because one-third of the angels fell with Lucifer
the forces of light have a 66% to 33% advantage

We win because God is God!
He holds all things together in His hands.

He is, therefore we are

He is, therefore we are

He is, therefore we are:

He is love, therefore we can be love...

He is holy, therefore we can be holy...

He is righteous, therefore we may be righteous...

He is compassionate, therefore we can be compassionate...

He is longsuffering, therefore we can be longsuffering...

He is forgiving, therefore we can be forgiving... etc.

□ The forces of evil have no power over His kingdom
unless we relinquish our authority
and believe in the enemies lies over the truth of His Word.

□ Nothing that comes against us is a surprise to God.
● Some tribulations are allowed by His design
● Other attacks are the work of the adversary of our souls

□ In either case God will use every circumstance in our lives
to build the character of Christ in us.

NOTE:
God is never the author of sickness
There is no reference to Jesus ever inflicting sickness

Our Reactions to God’s Work of Transformation:

□ “Why me Lord?”

□ “Lord, Deliver me from this…!”

□ We live in a instant mashed potato society
where all problems are settled in an hour on the television.

□ God’s desire is for a people who will stand with Him
in the face of every circumstance
even when we don’t understand it fully.

□ God will allow tribulation
● so we will see our hearts condition
● to teach us spiritual warfare
(Galatians 6)

□ After Joshua brought God’s people into the promised land
certain nations were left unconquered by God
to teach them warfare
“Now these are the nations which the Lord left to prove Israel by them,
that is, all in Israel who had not previously experienced war in Canaan;
It was only that the generations of the Israelites
might know and be taught war,
at least those who previously knew nothing of it.”
Judges 3:1-2

End Part 8