SEARCH III

    Has your search for God been successful? Have you mastered the key for
understanding God--the ability to concentrate and listen to Him? Our natural
inclination is to talk, not listen, We  can be saved, pray, and seek guidance,
but there's much more work to actually be "One with Christ".

    Sometimes we experience things in our lifetimes that help us to understand
being "One". My father was a devout Christian. He read scripture every day,
and had a special connection with his Savior. There were some occasions
when he experienced a miracle. My ears were healed when he prayed for
healing from the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. It happened right then. A little
boy thinks about things like that.

    My father and I frequently worked together on the farm and in the family
business. He had a sense of humor, and one of his favorite sayings was, "I
work for my son until he goes broke; then he works for me until I go broke.
Then we begin all over again". That was his way of saying we were "one."

    Being saved and having the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life is but
the first step in trying to be one with Christ. We must work through Christ, even
though we pray to God. There are directions for prayer in three of the Gospels.
That number, 3, stresses the importance of the direction. Look at Matt. 21:21,22.
"Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do
what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, Be removed
and be cast into the sea, it will be done. And whatever things you ask in
prayer, believing, you will receive."

    This scripture needs more explanation, but that will wait until later. We need
to go to Luke 11:9,10. "So I say to you to ask, and it will be given to you, seek,
and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
John 14:14 tells us "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

    Obviously this does not mean unholy or frivolous desires will be fulfilled. It
does mean prayers can and will be answered. It tells us to give our desires to
Christ who may fulfill them, or may pass them to the Father for action. By going
through Christ, we are attempting to be "one".

    This may be more difficult than you think. I've never given a post-Easter
sermon previously, but I believe it will help you to understand the great hurdle
you must clear to be "one". Please read the last chapter in each of the Four
Gospels. Keep in mind the Apostles, the women, and followers of Christ were
with Him on earth during His ministry. They saw Him heal countless people,
preach the direct Word from God, walk on the water, still the storm, and
actually raise the dead. They were there in person and both saw and heard
these miracles.

    Although Christ had explained why He was on earth and what had to happen
for salvation to be possible for all mankind, not one of them understood the
crucifixion or resurrection. They all had some doubt. This is the obstacle you
face in trying to be one with Christ. This is why it sometimes helps when a strong
believer prays with you. It makes your belief stronger and reduces doubt when
another person is working with you.

     The chief priests wanted to be sure Christ's body was not taken from the tomb,
and Roman soldiers were assigned to them to secure the tomb. Now pay attention
to the passages where disciples or the women were in the presence of the
resurrected Christ, but did not recognize him. This is a spiritual action that does
happen, even now. Those not supposed to see are partially blinded so they do
not observe the spiritual presence. The same is true about not hearing a spoken
word by God. The revelations of sight and sound are controlled by God.

    We see that an angel comes down from heaven and rolls away the stone that
was blocking the entrance to the tomb (Matt. 28:1,2). This was not necessary for
Christ's leaving the tomb. The purpose was to provide entry by others to see He
was risen. Angels were there to explain what should have been clear to Christ's
followers. The linen He had been wrapped in was there, but the clincher was the
handkerchief from His head was not just discarded, but carefully folded together
in a place by itself (John 20:7,8).

    A seed of doubt is so strong it can uproot a tree. To be spiritually attuned, we
must be totally open to hearing God's Word. One of the ways Satan works against
us is through imitation. We often hear about someone who says he heard "voices".
God speaks in a plain voice, not voices. Such statements lead us to believe anyone
who hears anything is mentally sick. In fact, Satan has done such a good job with
all kinds of imitations, that it is difficult to separate truth from fake. Unfortunately,
the slick impostors are so good at what they do that most people fall into the trap.

    To be one with Christ is not easy. While you have the Holy Spirit to assist you in
spiritual growth, He is your mentor. You still must take the necessary action yourself.
You also must realize that some of the things you pray for will not happen because
fulfillment would not be a good thing for you. Also, God takes His action according
to His time frame, which is usually different than ours. That's why there is instant
healing, and healing that may take days or weeks.

    We have to try to eliminate the worries, fears and rabble information of the world
to enable our channel of conversation to the Lord to be open. We know He can hear
us, but the trick is to be able to hear Him over all the static of Satan's world. If the
people who walked with Christ had doubts, why would we not expect to have doubts?
The cure is to carefully study scripture and apply yourself. Nobody else can do it
for you.

Rev. Walbear