{"id":3429,"date":"2020-08-01T05:05:52","date_gmt":"2020-08-01T09:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/?p=3429"},"modified":"2020-08-01T05:23:27","modified_gmt":"2020-08-01T09:23:27","slug":"is-there-more-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hispreciousgift.com\/wordpress\/is-there-more-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"IS THERE MORE TO LIFE?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Modified from Previous Post 2019<\/em><\/p>\n

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A 30-year-old male executive sat in the office of his pscyho-therapist, despondent, depressed, trying to make sense of his life, said to his counselor, \u201cI have reached the pinnacle of my career. I have a six-figure salary, a new sports car, a wife, three children, and a new home.\u00a0 I can buy anything I want, whenever I want; yet, I feel empty and lost inside so I am here to ask you, \u201cIs there more to life\u2026is this it<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Chief of Surgery in a prominent hospital in New York City makes life and death decisions every day, especially with the stresses of COVID-19. She sat in a hotel room with an overdose of sleeping pills lying before her. \u00a0Feeling empty, lost, and unfulfilled, she asked herself, \u201cIs there more to life; is this it<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

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A pastor of a mega-church with an international television and radio ministry reaching millions with the gospel of Jesus Christ, sat alone in his church office, overwhelmed, exhausted, and at his wit\u2019s end, cried out to the Lord one night, \u201cLord, I can\u2019t do this anymore! Is there more to life; is this it<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Do these stories sound familiar to anyone? It does to me. Over 25 years ago, I sat up in bed in the wee hours of the morning, after soaking my pillow with tears, hungering to experience more of the life of God in my soul. I cried out to Him, \u201cLord, I am so hungry and thirsty for You! Please fill me! All these years I have learned so much about You by reading the Bible, attending seminary, and ministering to others but I don\u2019t feel I really know You at all\u2026 is this it<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Have you ever experienced this or are you experiencing, is this it<\/em>, right now? You are not alone. It doesn\u2019t matter if you have never met the Lord or you have been saved all of your life. There comes a time in each of our lives our souls cry out to the Lord for intimacy<\/em>. I don\u2019t mean praying or reading the Bible more, I mean a deep connection and affection<\/em> only the Lord within our<\/em> souls and spirits can give. There will be these moments or seasons in our lives where our souls call out to God. It is during these times, Christ is wooing the soul for deeper intimacy<\/em> with Him. Rejoice, my brother and sister, it is our Lord who leads and guides us to this path. The experience may be a little different for each of us but the feelings are the same. It feels like you are hungering and thirsting for more. There is a discontentment, nagging, and uneasiness within that refuse to go away. It seems like no matter what you do, it just won\u2019t go away. I want to share a scripture today that may shed some light on the place where you are walking.<\/p>\n

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In Philippians Chapter 3 verses 5-10 of the Amplified Classic Edition, our brother Paul had a very similar experience. As he looked throughout the course of his life and all the accomplishments attained, he said:<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>7\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I have come to consider as [one combined] loss for Christ\u2019s sake.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>8\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord\u00a0and\u00a0of progressively becoming more deeply\u00a0and\u00a0intimately acquainted with Him<\/u> <\/strong>[of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake, I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One),<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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9\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>And that I may [actually] be found\u00a0and\u00a0known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law\u2019s demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/em>10\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him<\/u>, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly],<\/strong> and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope].<\/em><\/p>\n

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In the above scriptures, Paul spoke of a knowledge of Jesus Christ which meant more than just learning about<\/u> Him; he said: \u201cThat I may progressively become more DEEPLY AND INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED WITH HIM.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong>MERE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST<\/u> CAN NEVER SATISFY OUR SOULS<\/strong><\/p>\n

IT IS KNOWLEDGE SHARED WITH CHRIST THAT<\/u> SATISFIES THE SOUL<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The word \u2018Knowledge\u2019<\/strong> in the Bible has more than one meaning; let\u2019s look at two of them:<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong>Eido<\/strong> \u2013 to learn by using the senses, learn by observation, to interview, inspect, to study.<\/p>\n

Ginosko<\/strong>– become known of, intimate, to understand, to experience, or have an encounter with.<\/p>\n

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We all learn by listening, reading, and hearing with our senses. We take in information and process it. This kind of knowledge requires using the soul to ascertain and remember; this kind of learning is called Eido<\/em>. Because our Lord Jesus, Father, and Holy Spirit are Spirits, we get to know<\/em> them through a different process, Ginosko<\/em>\u2026 experiencing Them<\/em>, especially through trials and difficulties in our lives. During those times, we must turn to our Lord and ask Him, \u201cLord, how do you want to handle this situation?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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He wants us to experience:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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