Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
I’ve learned in this life that whatever you spend the majority of your time seeking after, that is what you will be filled up with. It all comes down to how much time that you want to invest in a certain purpose or function. If you spend eight hours a day working at an Earthly job, more than likely you will be filled up with money in your pocket. Likewise, if you spend the same amount of time seeking the things of God, you will be filled up with Spiritual riches. The original Apostles made that choice and walked away from Earthly occupations in order to devote their time to Jesus. Keeping a job was unimportant to them in comparison to the things of Christ, so they disconnected themselves from the world to seek the things of God.
Think about this for a moment…
Every summer, many families like to go camping out in the woods for a week or two. They will find some secluded campground, and set up all of their tents and bedding. Suddenly, they are surrounded by peace and quiet, but it seems like it only takes a few minutes until the kids finally begin asking the parents, “What’s to do?” What a perfect opportunity to spend time thinking about the Lord Jesus and reading and meditating on His Word. All the distractions that they encounter in their everyday lives have been suddenly removed and they have plenty of free time available.
But many times people are just too busy to make time for God on their own. Too many things get in the way, and their hearts become distracted by all of the things to do in this world. I grew up in the world. I worked throughout the Midwest, and lived in some huge cities, but when I began to study the Scriptures, I realized that I needed to walk away from it all, in order to become faithful to Christ. It was like pulling the plug on the world, and walking 100 years back in time.
When we first moved out to our small cabin in the woods, we didn’t even have electricity. We used oil lamps and other types of battery lighting. But it was always very quiet and peaceful in our home, with a soft crackle of a warm wood stove. In this setting there could be found many great opportunities to spend time seeking God. In many of today’s modern homes, people can become completely obsessed with all types of frivolous things. They can waste the days away by playing games or getting involved with other activities that completely pull their minds away from God. You cannot seek God properly when everything is placed above Him in your mind. Each of us need to do whatever it takes to rid ourselves of anything that pulls our hearts and minds away from Him.
A parent might tell you to pray, but when it comes down to it, we must each take the initiative to find a special and secluded place to be with Him. It might be singing psalms on your bed, or praying in your prayer closet. It might be in a canoe, or going for a walk. It simply needs to be a private place where you can lift up your hearts unto Him. I guarantee you, the more that you come out from the world, the more quality time that you will be able to spend with Him, and God will reward those who seek Him in such a manner.
The Apostles and Prophets of the Lord desired this same type of relationship with God. They wanted it so much that they turned away from everything in this world to obtain it. John the Baptist wasn’t even concerned about the clothing he wore, or wasting his time planting a crop. He was seeking God, and that’s what he spent his time doing. Moses turned away from all the treasures of Egypt, choosing to live a quiet life in a tent. The old Testament prophets would live in caves or in the desert so they could isolate themselves from the things of this world and completely focus on God. Time is a huge investment, (and also a gift), and you must remove all the distractions if you truly want to be close to God.
The more you distance yourself from the world, the closer to God you can become. You must realize that this is an evil world, filled with wickedness around every corner. It’s on the television, it is on the internet, it is on your cell phone, and on the streets of the cities. When you surround yourself with these types of things, they affect the heart and the mind. To become transformed into people of God, you must learn to shut things off in your life. It’s turning away from sinful distractions, just as Lot did when he left Sodom. He was separating himself from the world, something his wife couldn’t do and died because of it. To seek God needs to be an all-consuming goal in the life of those who want to become Saints. All one needs to do is remember the first commandment.
Matthew 22 ³⁶ Master, which is the great commandment in the law? ³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment.
To fulfill this commandment requires that He is above all others. He must be greater than any other relationship or thing in your life, because if He becomes second place, all of your decision making, your focus, and your direction will be lost and handed over to the world. The Christian life is a quest for faithful and obedient living towards God, and it’s going to require a burning and loving heart for Him. Being separate from the world shows God that you love Him, and you’re ready to do what is required to be His faithful and loyal children.
2 Corinthians 6 ¹⁴ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
¹⁵ And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? ¹⁶ And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ¹⁷ Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, ¹⁸ And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
True happiness is not found in the things of this world, nor can it be found in a wife, in a relative, or even in money. It can only be found when you seek God with your whole heart, because He is the source of true and everlasting Joy.
So wherever it may be, each of us need to find that special place of seclusion so we can develop a close and meaningful relationship with Christ Jesus. It might be on a mountain trail, it might be in the desert, but in matters regarding the heart, each of us need to find our own….
….. Place in the Woods
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 