2. Getting To The Father's Heart

[Zac Loh]

GETTING TO THE FATHER’S HEART

1. His Throne
2. His Face
3. His Heart

THE COURT: HIS THRONE

THE HOLY PLACE: HIS FACE

THE MOST HOLY PLACE: HIS HEART

1. HIS THRONE

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; (Psalm 89:14)

The foundation of God’s throne is righteousness and justice. Jesus Christ had met the righteousness and justice of God by the sinless love offering of Himself at the cross. We were made the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). We are now to come boldly to God’s throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).

The throne of grace is sitting on the foundation of righteousness and justice. Grace covered the requirement of righteousness and justice. The Mercy Seat was sitting on top of The Ark Of the Testimony covering The Testimony of the law and commandments (Exodus 25:21). The Mercy Seat covered the requirement of the law and commandments. Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13); we can come boldly before God.

We have been justified. We have been made righteous by Christ before God. We can worship God. We can bring our petitions before God. Many Christians stay at this place. They do not want to go further. They do not want to commit themselves to seeking God. Their level of experience of God remains at this place. This area of The Tabernacle was outside of the tent. But let us not just stay here. Let us go into the tent of The Tabernacle. God wants us to go further. God wants us to seek His face.

Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore! (1 Chronicles 16:11)

2. HIS FACE

Mercy and truth go before Your face. (Psalm 89:14)

To seek God’s face, we have to seek Him face-to-face, as one man speaks in front of another, facing each other at close proximity. The Lord knew Moses face-to-face.

But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, in all the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteronomy 34:10-12).

Just as with Moses, the Lord has to know us face-to-face before He can send us to perform signs and wonders on His behalf.

The Lord spoke face-to-face with Moses as a man speaks to his friend. And Moses’ face shone.

So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend (Exodus 33:11a)

And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him. (Exodus 34:35)

The people saw the face of the first martyr Stephen, like the face of an angel. Surely, his face must have shone. Later, it was recorded that he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God (Acts 6:15; 7:55).

On the first occasion when I looked at the apostle prophet evangelist Morris Cerullo; I saw his face shone like an angel.

if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Moses was made known to us as a person who was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth (Numbers 12:3). If we come before God with such humility, real brokenness …we can surely gaze into heaven and see the glory of God …we will come before God face-to-face …and we will experience His goodness, graciousness and compassion (Exodus 33:19). His face will shine upon us!

“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ‘ (Numbers 6:24-26)

Is this what you are looking for?

A relative of a church member, whose leg was stricken with gangrene because of an undetected blot clot, was on the hospital bed awaiting amputation. This desperate man was an unbeliever. Thank God, he was blessed for having a caring and powerful Christian man as his employer. This Christian boss stayed through the night at his bedside - praying for him.

This unbeliever relative testified that he saw a glow emanating from his Christian boss while his boss was in the midst of prayer.

Subsequently, life came back to his leg. On the second night, his boss continued praying. And again, this stricken unbeliever witnessed a glow. This time, his wife was there with him. His wife rubbed her eyes in disbelief. She went around the Christian boss observing him from a few different angles. Yet she saw the same glow emanating. Life came back to this stricken man’s leg once again!

Finally, the amputation procedure was forced into cancellation. Needless to say, the healed unbeliever and his wife became BELIEVERS now, and confessed Jesus Christ as Lord!

In church life and ministry, we see many human faces. There are those who show angry faces. Some give us their unhelpful faces. And we do get sulky faces. We also get a sour face when we accidentally offend someone. There are many, many different faces which we will encounter.

But God wants us to spend time beholding Him so that His countenance shines upon us. Then we will have the glow that others can see. We have been drawing from the faces that we have seen in people. But this time around, people will see the countenance of the Lord in our face.

The Holy Place is where we spiritually behold God’s face. And let us get deeper. Let God reveal His heart to us.

3. HIS HEART

I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him. With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him.

Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David: His seed shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me; It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.”

(Psalm 89:20-21; 35-37)

A swearing is greater than a promise. It means that no matter what happens, God will bring the blessing to pass, irregardless. David’s blessing was a generation-to-generation blessing …lasting to Jesus …lasting to eternity!

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things (Matthew 12:34-35).

When we have touched God’s heart, He will speak His blessing upon us.

Food And Blessing Pronounced: The True Story Of The Isaac Family

And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob (Genesis 25:28)

Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” (Genesis 27:1-4)

Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.” And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.” When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!” But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.” (Genesis 27:30-35)

To make the long story short, their mother Rebekah helped the younger son Jacob to trick their father Isaac into blessing Jacob, instead of the elder son Esau. The pronouncement of the father Isaac’s blessing was such a great value that Rebekah and Jacob were willing to go to such an extent of an elaborate tricking of father Isaac.

Jacob blackmailed, tricked and robbed Esau of the birthright blessing of the firstborn. It was our sin which nailed Jesus, God’s firstborn, at the cross. Esau suffered because of Jacob. And Jesus suffered because of us.

The Father turned away from Jesus, when the sin of the world was upon Jesus. Jesus was punished and lost His birthright.

This is my parable, parallel and allegory – with a limited application like in any parable.

Of course, we know that Jesus regained His birthright blessing of the firstborn of God and brought many sons to the Father God – which Esau never did.

What was food to Isaac was also food to Esau. What Isaac tasted, was what Esau had many times cooked and ate himself. Esau gave Isaac what Esau himself thought was good. You wouldn’t give food to someone, the food which you don’t like, would you? And Isaac loved Esau’s food.

There is a saying that the way to a man’s heart is through the stomach. What then, is the way to God’s heart?

Isaac pronounced his blessing upon the son who brought his favorite food. Can we bring food to our Father God, and say my food is to do Your will, to do what is in Your heart? This is the type of food which the Father likes.

In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! (John 4:31-35)

Are we seeking to do the Father’s will and finish the work that He has given us, just as Jesus did? Are we prepared to do what is in the Father’s heart? Have we caught His heartbeat for souls? Some things are caught, and not taught.

Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ (1 Kings 9:4-5; underline mine)

For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. (1 Kings 11:4; underline mine)

Are we seeking to do what is in the Father’s heart, just as David did? Do we have the integrity of heart and uprightness to do exactly what God wants? Are we loyal to God? Because if we are, we will do exactly what He wants.

Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. (Genesis 27:9)

Just as Rebekah, the Holy Spirit knows the food which the Father likes. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you get to the Father’s heart (a parable has a limited application, and, in this case, it doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit will trick our Father God!).

To get to the Father’s heart, we need to know what is in the Father’s heart. Not the general static knowledge, but the present specifics – the real time knowledge. We do not relate to God as to a book or a dogma. God is a real person with a heart!

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:26-28; underline mine)

“God, I don’t want to do what I want to do, I want to do what’s in Your heart.”

There is a spiritual condition and time …when our Father God will directly pronounce a specific ultimate blessing upon us!!!

It Is Beautiful

A diamond has many facets. Hold it with your fingers between you and the sun. Look at each facet. Every facet you look at, the diamond is beautiful. Truth is the same. No matter how many ways you look at the truth of our relationship with God, it is beautiful.