Being discipled, and following Jesus Christ

This part of the Christian Forums, is supposed to be about Discipleship: Following Jesus Christ!

I like coming to this section because that is really what Christianity is about, but when I write here it becomes apparent that many don't know Him. They don't get discipled and taught by Him. They don't follow Him either. They don't even know Him, because they don't believe He is there for us, so they don't seek His voice and it is written that His sheep hear His voice and He leads them out with His voice. Anyway, I thought I would testify about Him and what it is like for me to follow Him, via His voice, and bring some teachings He told me. We talk everyday, so I can even come close to telling all He has told me, but these are some of my favorite things and as such I wrote them down after He told them to me. I hope you like them, and if you don't ever hear His voice, please don't post on this thread. If you do hear His voice, please share what you have heard from Him, thanks.

THESE BITS OF WISDOM ARE LIKE DROPS OF WATER. I WILL SURELY GIVE YOU A POND FULL.

He came into my life over 20 years ago. About 18 years ago He had given me a couple of these says and then told me the above. He didn't lie. He keeps giving them to me. I hope you enjoy some of those drops.

YOU DIDN’T MAKE ME AN AWESOME GOD, BUT YOU CAN MAKE ME AN AWESOME GOD.


We of course can make Him and awesome God with our testimonies. Not that everyone will believe, but they should.

WE HEAR WISDOM, BUT IS IT THE HEARING OR THE ACTING UPON IT THAT MAKES A MAN WISE?

God is Wisdom. If you read Proverbs you will see that there. Solomon explained that Wisdom cries out in the street. Indeed we do hear Wisdom, which is just another name for the Holy Spirit, but some don't understand.

AS INSTRUCTIONS ARE GIVEN TO A SERVANT, AND WISDOM AND PARABLES TO A SON, AND AS JOKES ARE GIVEN TO A FRIEND, SO I LOVE YOU IS SAID TO A BRIDE.


The above is one of my absolute favorite things He told me. It shows the type of personal relationship we have with the Lord. If you hear Him give you instructions and you do them, you know you are His servant and He is your Lord. If you get these bits of wisdom you know that He care for you like a son. When you hear jokes from Him you realize you are a friend of His, and the best is hearing Him tell you personally "I love you." He does that. The first time He told me "Karl, I love you", it instantly brought tears to my eyes.

WHEN WE TALK TO GOD, GOD TALKS TO US……. WHEN WE LISTEN TO GOD, GOD LISTENS TO US!

I like this saying from the Holy Spirit, because it shows how we tend to make it about telling God what we think, but this saying causes me to remember that it is probably better that I listen to Him. It also shows the importance of actually getting into conversations back and forth with Him.

THE BEST LISTENERS MAKE THE BEST TEACHERS.


If you want to be a teacher and tell people what God has to say, you need to listen to Him!! In Hebrews chapter 5 we read the if you are dull of hearing then you are not qualified to teach. That actually doesn't stop people from teaching, but still they are not qualified to teach other people about the Lord if they don't listen to Him.

Ok - I am going to make some more posts on this thread, with the same type of things. I really do have a pond full.

IT'S NOT EASY LISTENING TO A ROCK. YOU HAVE TO LISTEN VERY CLOSE!

We hear the Lord via that small voice of His. He is our rock, but we have to listen very close to what He says otherwise we won't hear Him.

IT’S BETTER TO FALL ON THE ROCK THAN TO HAVE THE ROCK FALL ON YOU, BUT ISN’T IT BEST TO CLIMB ONTO THE ROCK TO GET HIGHER?


He gave me a few bits on Him being the Rock. Of course the above takes a verse in the Bible and gives you a deeper understanding. Look - He is going to fall on those who choose not to believe in Him, and that is not going to be good for them. It is better that you fall upon His mercy and repent, so He does not fall on you someday. Still, if you climb up on His you get higher and have access to heaven. Isn't that the best?

KARL, ALWAYS REMEMBER; I AM GOD OF THE WHOLE WORLD, THE WHOLE WORLD, THE WHOLE UNIVERSE, THE WHOLE EVERYTHING, BUT ESPECIALLY THE WHOLE WORLD. ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT!


He said this so strongly, and boldly, and it came across with such power, even though it was still via His small voice, that I can not forget it. Still, Christians forget that He is God of everything. He made it all, so He rules over it all, whether you know to remember that or not. Better remember it!

CONFIDENCE IS BUILT BY OVERCOMING ADVERSITY. PRIDE IS BUILT BY CONQUERING YOUR VICTIM

We all have challenges everyday. So we should seek the Lord, everyday. When we do we can overcome and we get confidence. Pride has a whole different attitude.

WISDOM IS LIKE RICHES. THE FIRST DOLLAR IS EASILY SPENT! YET AS YOU CONTINUE TO COLLECT WISDOM YOU’LL GET A RETURN OFF YOUR INTEREST.

--------- NOW IS’NT THAT INTERESTING?

He has the best ways of putting things. Indeed, if we become interested in Wisdom (The Holy Spirit) then do get a return off our interest.

WE DON’T HAVE UNDERSTANDING BECAUSE WE DON’T READ THE BIBLE WITH UNDERSTANDING, BUT OUR UNDERSTANDING…. UNDERSTAND???

Like Wisdom is a name for the Holy Spirit, Understanding is a name for Jesus Christ in the Bible. You can see this in Proverbs, though it might not be clear, because God speaks in Parables and saying (Ps 78. So in Proverbs you read verses like Prov 8:14 “Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine." Jesus Christ is the King of kings, so the power is His, and the Holy Spirit is also His. The Holy Spirit does not speak on His own initiative but He takes the words of God from Jesus Christ and speaks them to your spirit. So we need to read the Bible with Jesus Christ! If we don't, we will not have understanding!

The Lord has often had me go to and get some food and have me write down things while He talks to me.

One particular day He gave me a bunch of little things to write:

IF YOU WRITE DOWN WHAT i SAID, I KNOW YOU HEARD IT.
GOD IS THE SOURCE OF ALL WISDOM
NOT ALL WISDOM IS WISDOM, ONLY THAT WHICH GLORIFIES GOD IS WISDOM
[That seems a little strange but the Holy Spirit is wisdom, so the above has lots to do with discernment of spirits, because the Holy Spirit always glorifies the Son who is God]
HOW CAN YOU THEN GET WISDOM WITHOUT TALKING TO GOD, MEANING HEARING FROM GOD
SO HEARING FROM GOD IS WISDOM, AND THAT IS AS EAY AS LISTENING TO THE WIND AND CHECKING ITS DIRECTION
IT'S DIRECTION IS LOVE, AND GOD IS UNDERSTANDING
ALL WHO GLORIFY THEMSELVES WILL BE HUMBLED.
DO YOUR WORK BECAUSE ALL WHO DO THEIR WORK AR APPRECIATED, AND ALL WHO ARE APPRICIATED WILL BE GLORIFIED.
DON'T JUDGE EXCEPT FOR THAT WHICH IS GIVEN TO YOU TO JUDGE. IS YOUR YARD GREEN? IS YOUR POOL CLEAN?
IF I AM LOVE, IF I AM WISDOM, IF I AM THERE, IF I AM, THEN WON'T I TALK TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE? WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE I MADE?
IF YOU REFUSE TO LISTEN TO WISDOM, WHAT PART DO YOU HAVE OF GOD? IT IS FOR THIS REASON PEOPLE ARE DECEIVED.

Again, that was all given to me in just one sitting while I got my food and ate at a fast food restaurant.

Again, I am going over what He has said to me. Of course He give me other things than just sayings. He tells me He loves me. He gives me instructions. Still this section of the forum is about discipleship, so let me give you some parables He has given me.

THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD:


Once upon a time there was an ant carrying a big load on his shoulders. He was looking up at the very large hill in which he was going to climb with his big load. At the same time there was a little boy looking down on that very same small ant hill and the little boy decide to just jump right on top of it for fun.


What is your view of heaven?


Mat 19:14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

There is a misconception about how we get into the Kingdom of God. So many think it is about works, but it is about just jumping in.

In The Dark:

There once was an animal that lived in a cave. So all its life it had been in the dark. It knew there were other things that lived in the cave with him, but because it couldn’t see them, it didn’t know how big they were. After a while the animal got to thinking that he was the biggest, strongest, and smartest animal in the cave.

Then came a rumbling.

AHHH

(Oh my thought the animal)

And the noise grew.

AHHHHHH

(Oh no thought the animal)

And then.

AHHHH… CHOOO!!!

Instantly a strong wind blew the animal out of the cave.

In the light the animal could see that he wasn’t big at all. Wow, he was so small. He was just a microbe, and he felt sad.

After a little while he realized that it was ok that he was a microbe, because he was still him. You know it’s ok if you’re a microbe, because even a microbe has a purpose.




When we are in the dark, we getting to thinking that we are pretty big, pretty smart, pretty strong, so we must be the biggest, strongest, and smartest thing. When we see the light we realize that God is out there, and angels are out there, so how big are we really? But it’s ok, because even we have a purpose.

Now in Isaiah we read about come and reasoning with Him. So we are talking about a conversation, back and forth. That is how it should be with Him. It is how you get to be His friend. He will start joking with you then.

HOLIE GOD:

I was driving down the road one day when sudden the word of God came to me saying: “KARL, I’M A HOLY GOD.”

That seemed out of character to Him, because I have never heard Him brag.

“I DIDN’T SAY I WAS A HOLY GOD, I SAID I WAS A HOLIE GOD. I HAVE HOLES IN MY HANDS.”

Ha, Ha, Ha – I laughed, I had never thought of Him exactly that way. Then I started to realize I too was one that He went to the cross for, and tears came to my eyes.

“KARL, I HOLD EVERYTHING TOGETHER WITH MY HANDS, SO THE HOLES MY HANDS ARE THE THINGS THAT SHOULDN’T BE THERE; THE MIRACLES, SIGNS, AND WONDERS.”

“IF MAN WASN’T REBELIOUS, I WOULDN’T HAVE THE HOLES IN MY HANDS, BUT IT WAS NECCESARY TO GET HOLES IN MY HANDS TO DRAW MEN BACK TO ME.”

“IF PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE I WENT TO THE CROSS, WHAT GOOD ARE THE HOLES IN MY HANDS TO THEM?”

“KARL I TELL YOU TRUELY, IF ANYONE DOESN’T BELIEVE IN MIRACLES, SIGNS, AND WONDERS, THEY DON’T BELIEVE IN THE HOLES IN MY HANDS. THEY DON’T BELIEVE I WENT TO THE CROSS. THEY DON’T BELIEVE I AM A HOLIE GOD AND THEY ARE NOT OF ME.”

So I told Him, “Wow, I guess we really tear you up.”

HA, HA, HA – I HEARD HIM LAUGH

Then He reminded me of a teaching He had recently given me:

“THE VERY THINGS THAT MAKE YOU LAUGH WILL MAKE YOU CRY ONE DAY! --- AND USUALLY IT’S YOUR KIDS.”

LUKE: 6:25 WOE TO YOU WHO LAUGH NOW, FOR YOU SHALL MOURN AND WEEP.

He will sometimes joke and laugh with you if you believe and talk to Him, but He’ll weep, mourn, and He died for you because you didn’t.

So I have been trying to give people an idea about how my relationship with the Lord is. Still, I only really covered the sayings and parables. I get instructions. I get told that He loves me. He has so many other ways and things that He covers with me. He also sends angels to minster to me. It's a relationship, that Him and I have. The purpose of this thread was to give others a small idea of the relationship that I have with Him. I'll leave you with one of my favorite parables that He gave me:

BUSY BEAVER STORY:


There was this busy beaver, and he was building a dam because….

Well, that’s what beavers do.


He was building a really good dam. There were no leaks in that dam. When he finished he noticed that the water was backing up behind the dam, so he built it higher.

But the water kept coming, so he built it higher and wider. But, the water kept coming, so he built it higher and wider and wider and higher. But the water kept coming, so he worked harder and harder, and built it higher and wider, and wider and higher, until he had built it from one side of the valley to the other. BUT THE WATER KEPT COMING, so he worked really hard for days, weeks maybe, and he built it to the top of both sides of the valley.

Then he looked over the top, and do you know what he saw? WATER! Nothing but water! What happened to the trees? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BIRDS? WHAT HAPPENED TO RABBITS, AND THE SQUIRRELS? WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS FRIENDS?

He turned around and couldn’t believe what he saw. Everything was all dried up. The trees didn’t have any leaves, and the grass was all gone, and there were no birds or rabbits or squirrels there either. Wow, he just stood there, for days, weeks maybe. The water started coming over the dam and breaking it down, but he just didn’t care anymore.

One day he noticed a leaf on a tree, and then he heard a noise behind him. He turned and looked at that side of the dam. The trees there were soggy, like they had been under water a long time. The river was flowing in it’s banks again. Then he heard a noise, and saw a family of squirrels coming down the side of the valley.


There’s a moral to this story. You don’t want to get working so hard you forget about your friends. You got to let the water of life flow through you.