Walk
308. Truth - Zakah
The basic human
need is for the presence of God so that we can feel loved, cared for and
secure. Most Christians seldom or
never realize God’s presence personally.
Perhaps sometimes they do in a big meeting, but not on a personal daily basis. Some believers get ZAPPED with the Holy
Spirit at youth camps, retreats or during special services, but then they
experience dryness when they get back to everyday life.
What can we
do to cooperate with God to cause His Presence to last?
We live in a
world, which is under the influence of our enemy.
In Daniel
chapter 6, Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for disobeying the world ruler
King Darius. I don’t think that
Daniel was overly courageous; he must have experienced a certain amount of
anxiety.
If we can find out why Daniel was delivered from his enemies
without being destroyed, we can learn something.
Daniel 6:21-22 gives us the answer. The king came to the lion’s den the next morning and called
out to see if Daniel had survived.
“Then Daniel said to the king, ‘O king, live forever! My God sent His
angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was
found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you”
(Daniel 6:21-22).
Daniel attributed his survival in the face of those hungry lions
to a word called innocent.
Daniel was “innocent”
which in Hebrew is ‘Zakah.’ The definition of
Zakah is to be translucent, innocent, clean, clear, pure, and transparent. In other words, it means to be real, to
be who you really are; no masks, no hidden motives, no desire to manipulate
others.
Most people don’t see the value in being honest with themselves,
others and even God. But total
honesty will always deliver us from our enemies and into God’s loving hands and
care.
Honesty and transparency kept him safe from the lions, and destroyed his enemies.
We need
light, but men prefer darkness.
Darkness
in the Bible always refers to dishonesty; light
always means truth.
John 3:19-21 says,
“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For
everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest
his deeds should be exposed. But
he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen,
that they have been done in God.”
God is Light;
God is Truth, so… Light = Truth.
John had a
special revelation of Jesus and the fact that He was truth and life.
1 John 1:1-10 says, “That
which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our
eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the
Word of live – the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and
declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested
to us – that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may
have fellowship with us (the same that we have); and truly our fellowship is with the
Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that
your joy may be full (in seeing you included in this fellowship). This is the message which we have heard
from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at
all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie
and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His
Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that
we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
The above passage was written about 50 years after Jesus was
crucified, and John talks about having fellowship with Him in the same way as they
used to have when they could touch with their hands.
Living in the light means opening up the depth of our souls, which
includes our emotions. I believe
that Daniel spent the night in the lion’s den telling God exactly how he
felt. He brought to Him all his
fears, sin and faith, and whatever else he was feeling.
Confession brings us into the light, but not ordinary confession. We need to confess our real feelings
and emotions.
Confession
brings the Cross.
1. We were damaged by sin; confession opens our hurts to God.
2. We have emptiness; confession fills us with God.
3. We try to control our lives; confession puts our trust in God
(Proverbs 3:5-6)
Confession begins in trusting a God you cannot see. Colossians 1:25-27 says He is in
you. John 14:25-26 says that He,
the Holy Spirit is here to take Jesus’ place.
How can we
trust anyone with our honest feelings?
Ephesians 2:4-5a
(Amplified Bible) says, “But God – so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and
in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He
loved us, even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses,
He made us alive together in fellowhip and in union with Christ…” God loves
us. He wants us to be real no
matter how bad we are. He puts all
the bad on the Cross when we tell Him.
The Word says that we are filled with many things that are not godly
(Mark 7:20-23). Who would love us?
We can’t believe that God will accept us with all our bad stuff.
God justifies the wicked.
Romans 4:5 says “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who
justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.”
In Isaiah 6;1-8 Isaiah was convicted of his sins and cleansed when
he entered into God’s presence.
God does not bring guilt and shame, but conviction, love and
healing. He washes us.
God is not a teacher testing our behavior and way of thinking; you
cannot think your way to God.
God is the lover of our souls!!
Confession opens our eyes and brings the Cross and God’s presence
on the scene.
Now go through this list of emotions on the next page and
tell God how you are really feeling.
List of
Emotions
Use these as a
guide for telling the Lord how you feel.
abandoned |
dependent |
hysterical |
put down |
accepted |
depressed |
ignored |
puzzled |
adequate |
deprived |
immature |
reasonable |
affectionate |
despair |
impatient |
rebellious |
afraid |
destroyed |
incompetent |
rejected |
alienated |
disappointed |
incomplete |
resentful |
alone |
discouraged |
indifferent |
responsible |
angry |
disgusted |
inhibited |
sad |
annoyed |
dissatisfied |
insecure |
secure |
anxious |
distrustful |
insulted |
skeptical |
apathetic |
dominated |
intimate |
small |
aroused |
drained |
intimidated |
smothered |
ashamed |
embarrassed |
jealous |
sorry |
attacked |
empty |
judged |
squelched |
betrayed |
envious |
left out |
strong |
bitter |
exasperated |
lonely |
stubborn |
blamed |
falling apart |
mean |
stupid |
bottled up |
fearful |
mournful |
submissive |
caged |
foolish |
nervous |
supportive |
caring |
forgiving |
obnoxious |
suspicious |
challenged |
forsaken |
offended |
sympathetic |
cheated |
frantic |
on edge |
threatened |
cold |
frustrated |
open |
timid |
competent |
furious |
out of control |
uncertain |
complaining |
giving |
outraged |
uneasy |
confused |
glad |
overburdened |
unhappy |
controlled |
gloomy |
overwhelmed |
unimportant |
cooperative |
grief |
paralyzed |
used |
cornered |
guilty |
persecuted |
valued |
crazy |
happy |
pessimistic |
violated |
critical |
hassled |
pleased |
vulnerable |
deceived |
hate |
powerless |
weak |
defeated |
helpless |
prejudged |
withdrawn |
defensive |
humiliated |
pressured |
worried |
deflated |
hurt |
pulled apart |
worthless |
degraded |
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