HOLY (WHOLLY) AFTER GOD

   Sort of a play on words, but in light of the "Holy Laughter" movement, I knew there had to be something good to compare it to; so in scripture I see a HOLY AFTER, or WHOLLY AFTER, God, good agenda revealed, though it is in contrast to the "Holy Laughter" thing many are involved in. With that being said, I will no longer mention that movement, but will focus on the positive aspects of someone who has a heart for God and goes wholly after Him.

   Who better but King David, a man after God's own heart! I used to have trouble with that scripture, wrongly thinking that it meant that David had a heart like God's. That might have been naive of me, but when I looked at his failings I couldn't understand how his heart was like God's. It was God who said of David, "I HAVE FOUND ... A MAN AFTER MINE OWN HEART, which shall fulfill all My will. Of this man's seed has God according to His promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus...." (Acts 13:22-23) God found, and continued to work in, a man who desired Him, not the things that He could give him. David, as a type of Christ, was a servant who desired to do the will of God. He was a man through whom God promised to bring forth Messiah. Jesus would be the fulfillment of the promises, and perform the doing of the perfect will of God that David desired to do.

   They are both models for us to follow: David, with his human failings, seeking after his God with all his limitations, knowing the Lovingkindness of God that made him strong; and Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, Who magnifies that Lovingkindness by His example. He is the express image of the Father: "He that has seen Me, has seen the Father." (John 14:9) Samuel explains that King Saul was a man who took matters into his own hands, and desired the affections of people. When he wrongly usurped the place of the Prophet/Priest, by making a burnt offering to God, he wrongly assumed Samuel would be pleased with him. "And it came to pass, that as soon as he made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What have you done?... And Samuel said to Saul, you have done foolishly: you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God... [if you had, then] would the Lord have established your kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now your kingdom shall not continue: the Lord has sought a man after His own heart [to replace you]" (1 Sam. 13:9-14) Oh how these two men mirror my own life, and I thank God I still have time to repent of my selfish desires, and to seek wholly after God!

   Saul represents the dual-minded man that wants to do things his own way, even for God. In so doing, we transgress the ways of God, making our ways His ways (in our minds). This foolishness keeps us from the obedience that is required to please God. "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken [better] than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." (1 Sam. 15:22-23) To the carnal man words such as these may sound trivial, but to God they are very serious. Jesus, being the fulfillment of the David example, "took upon Him the form of a servant, ... and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Phil. 2:7-8) This was the very opposite of Saul, who, as Samuel said to him, "When you were little in your own sight, were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel ...? Wherefore then did you not obey the voice of the LORD, but ... did evil in the sight of the Lord? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD...." (1 Sam. 15:17, 19-20) But he had not.

   And even though Saul recognized his transgressions and sought the favor of God, it was too late. Samuel said to Saul, "Because you have rejected the Word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king.... And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for He is not a man, that He should repent." (1 Sam. 15:23, 29) Then Saul shows his true colors, or his heart's desire, and says to Samuel: "I have sinned: yet honor me now, I pray you, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD your God. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD." (1 Sam. 15:30-31) I come to this conclusion because of what is written at the end of the chapter: "And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel." (1 Sam. 15:35) Keep in mind, it was the people that demanded a physical king, by which they were rejecting God as their king. It is another example of substituting the works of our hands for the Provisions of God. Yet, as I stressed above, "Samuel mourned for Saul." When actions bring the judgments of God, those that witness it should not delight in the evildoers getting their comeuppance, but rather should grieve for them.

   Jesus, Who did the whole will of God, grieved over those who did not see. When He approached Jerusalem, "He beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, if you had known, even you, at least in this your day, the things which belong unto your peace! But now they are hid from your eyes." (Luke 19:41-42) Though they could have received God's blessing, like Saul, they rejected Him, for they weren't wholly after God, but were divided in their hearts. Also, like Saul, who resented the very Provision of God sent to him, which was David, "the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy Him, and could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear Him." (Luke 19:47-48) Our self-preserving flesh will always resist the Spirit of God. That is why it must die, and not be trained in the things of God, or allowed to conform itself to a form of religion. No, we must be "made conformable unto His death...." (Phil. 3:10) "... Even the death of the cross." (Phil. 2:8) This death, our cross within His Cross, is dying to the self- preservation of all flesh, of which we have those examples of Saul and the leaders of Jesus' day.

   The divided heart, unlike David's heart, that was wholly after God, is the sinful, unrepentant heart that continued to provoke God to jealousy throughout the Old Testament. The Law, especially in the book of Deuteronomy, reveals that God will not accept a divided heart. There are many examples of how the Israelites were drawn away to worship other gods, strange gods, even after God warned them not to go. Still, they went a whoring after other gods, " ... look[ing] to other gods, and love flagons of wine." (Hosea 3:1) When you disregard "the God of all Comfort," (2 Cor. 1:3) you will " ... walk after other gods to your own hurt...." (Jer. 7:6) When we refuse the Provision of God, it grieves Him, as Samuel was grieved over Saul. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered your children together, [under My protection] even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!" (Matt. 23:37) God is not going to settle for a divided heart; He would not with Saul, nor the leaders of Israel, nor will He with any of us in this present age. This is why He continues to work on the Body of Christ, and those who will receive Him, and submit to His work in us; we are being sanctified, made holy, "as the church is subject to Christ... That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Eph. 5:24-27) The cleansing of this church is a purging that creates within us, a clean, undivided heart that seeks wholly after God.

   Who, or what, would resist this? When we receive the blessings of God, the Provisions of God, we are edified by our acceptance of His work in our lives. So, as every part of the Body of Christ supplies to the Body that which it has been given, the Body is made whole, or complete. When we do not receive from one another, for whatever reasons, we become divided, just like David and Saul. Where do we go? What do we Do? Cast stones, bite and devour one another? No, we are called to be like Christ, to intercede for one another, even those who resist us and themselves. David never attempted to take Saul's life, even though he had the chance and had himself been anointed to be king. He did everything he could to get Saul to repent, and receive the blessings of God that through David, Saul once received. After Saul had been rejected, and David anointed, "the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.... And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him." (1 Sam. 16:14, 23) The anointing (provision) of God, no longer in Saul, but now in David, drove away the evil spirit. In spite of all this goodness of David, we see that Saul continued to pursue David, to kill him. It is a scenario of evil opposing good, and flesh combating spirit.

   If Saul had applied this tenacity to serving God, he never would have lost his position as king. He was much like the leaders of Jesus' day, who could have submitted themselves to God by repenting of their error. The battle goes on today, in the church, when we do not receive one another in love, but instead have envying, strife, and divisions. When dominant leaders, like the Nicolaitanes, do not serve, but lord it over others, they drive those very people outside the church, where they become fair game for the predators who prey upon those who are alone, weak, and injured. In his capacity as king, Saul chased David outside of Israel, where he came under the influences of other nations. When David had an opportunity to kill Saul, David chose to confront him, to show he meant Saul no harm. "Wherefore does my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand? Now therefore I pray you, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the Lord; for they [Saul's 3000 men] have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods." (1 Sam. 26:18-19) This pursuit had caused David to leave Israel, to live in the land of the Philistines, making bonds with those who oppose the God of Israel. Saul is a type of carnal religion that does not allow for the Spirit of God, causing those who seek to walk with God in the Spirit, to go outside the place intended by God for that very purpose. The flesh wars against the Spirit.

   As David did, we are to take the adversities of life, that God allows, and turn them into advantages of worship. The often desperate situations David found himself in, were merely a prelude to the awesome Provision of God. "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His Pavilion: in the secret of His Tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me upon a Rock." (Psalm 27:4-5) Here we see that David's desire is for the Lord, for only in the Lord is there true beauty, security, and riches. Jesus says we are to "seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness...." (Matt. 6:33) This is another way of saying what David had said in Psalm 27, the focus being the beauty, security, and riches of God. When the second part of that verse --- " ... and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33) --- is the focus, this verse is used as an instrument to get things of this world. In the verses prior to it (24-32) we see Jesus telling us not to focus on food, water, clothing, and beauty, " ... for after all these things do the Gentiles seek...." (Matt. 6:32) The warning about what we seek after, is found in an earlier verse: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." (Matt. 6:24) A divided heart cannot go wholly after God, because it is also going after the things of this life.

"As the hart pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.... When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me.... O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember You.... Yet the Lord will command His Lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me.... Why are you cast down, O my soul? and why are you disquieted within me? hope ... in God; for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the health [salvation] of my countenance, and my God." (Psalm 42:1-2, 4, 6, 8, 11) While this has been turned into a lovely song, it speaks to our desperate need for God, as we face the struggles of life. We turn from the things, and toward God, with the knowledge that nothing can satisfy us but Him. ("As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after Thee, You alone are my heart's desire....") "My soul shall be satisfied ... when I remember You upon my bed, and meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice. My soul follows hard after You: Your right hand upholds me." (Psalm 63:5-8) "For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has smitten my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate. ... I stretch forth my hands unto You: my soul thirsts after You.... Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies: I flee unto You to hide me. Teach me to do Your will; for You are my God: Your Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness." (Psalm 143:3-4, 6, 9-10)

When Isaiah saw "the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple," he said, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged." (Isaiah 6:1, 5-7) This man of God, when confronted with the majesty of God, saw how helpless he was, to stand before the LORD of Hosts. It was a Godly fear, that produced in him both a reverence and recognition of his desperate need of God's Provision, which he then received, in the form of a live coal that purged his sin and took away his iniquity. This atonement was the message he was to carry forth to the people, though the people would not understand or perceive (See Isa. 6:9-10) This personal encounter, the like of which we all are required to have, if we are to truly see God for Who He is; it is the prerequisite to receiving the revelation of God's Holiness and our uncleanness. When we see Him from this perspective, and with the assurance of His Lovingkindness, which we see in His Atonement, we will then recognize our desperate need for God, and we, like the psalmists, will go wholly after God!

Though we may learn of the Lovingkindness of God, His Majesty, Wonders, and Gentleness, it is not until we have a personal encounter with Him, that we can begin to grow in the Grace and the Knowledge of our Lord. Only through a similar process can we fully see, as Isaiah did, that " ... it is God Which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." (Phil. 2:13) Paul writes, " ... we should be to the praise of His Glory, who first trusted in Christ. In Whom you also trusted, after that you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation: in Whom also after that you believed, you were [given, like the coal, given to Isaiah] sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise, ... the Spirit of Wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the Hope of His Calling, and what the Riches of the Glory of His Inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His Power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power...." (Eph. 1:12-13, 17-19)

The beauty of this revelation is that we get to see how truly His ways are higher than our ways, and His Salvation is complete, not requiring additions to His work. To "let go and let God" is an expression I have heard; and to me, today, the scriptures clearly reveal, in a depth I did not have before, that I can "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil." (Proverbs 3:5-7) Uzziah, a King during Isaiah's time, had a similar experience as Saul had. He had been a good king, "And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD...." (2 Chron. 26:4) He accomplished much. "And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong. But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his God...." (2 Chron. 26:15-16) Like Saul, who at one time had been "little in his own sight," and then took things into his own hands, Uzziah became strong in a prideful way, which led to his demise. When we substitute, or rely upon, our own strength, it is a rejection of God's strength.

Earlier I quoted, "the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for He is not a man, that He should repent." (1 Sam. 15:29) This "Strength," capitalized, is not the word we see for power, boldness, or security, such as The Lord's "strength." It is a distinct word, used no other place, that reveals to Israel, and us, that God is the continual victory, splendor, truthfulness, confidence, and the goal that we travel toward. He is the object or focus of our attention, by Whom, when we behold Him, we are changed into His image. It is Jesus, being the direct reflection of that image, upon Whom we are to gaze, to be made whole. He is "the Branch of Righteousness," and "The LORD our Righteousness." (Jer. 33:15, 16) We are to look to Him, Who "... is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." (Eph. 3:20-21) His power to subdue all things unto Himself (not my strength) brings Honor and Glory to God. "Finally, my brethren, be strong [empowered] in the Lord, and in the power [dominion] of His might [ability]." (Eph. 6:10)

With much love, Joe (with Mercy)