“When was the last time that you heard God’s heartbeat in your life?”
This was the question that struck on my mind when I attended a Spiritual Retreat and Recollection at the Marikina City Hall for the culminating activity of the 5th Marikina Christian Festival. We really thought that we shall intercede on behalf of our city or we shall pray for the new believers but it turned out that God had an another plan for us. While I was sitting at the bleachers, God met me. I was able to hear God’s heartbeat for me.
Pastor Ferdie Cruz, a senior pastor from Jesus Church, shared about our Identity in Jesus Christ. He used the Parable of the Lost Son and the story of David and Goliath as the parallel illustration. Let me share with you what God imparted on my heart.
You are God’s Champion in His Heart.
“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:45-47
King David was just a young boy when he fought with Goliath. God is pleased with him for though he is young and incapable in the eyes of others, his heart is filled with faith and he is assured that God will hand them the entire Philistine Army for the battle is the Lord’s. David’s faith made him a champion at God’s Heart.
I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Psalms 16:2
King David was called "A Man after God’s Own Heart" because he will do whatever God wants him to do and that he recognized the only good in him is the God in him. Because he recognized that apart from God, he is nothing, God considered him a champion in His heart.
Whenever we recognize that apart from God, we are nothing and that it is only by His grace and sustenance that we are able to do good things and continue the good fight of this life, we acknowledge that we are God’s champions for God is the source of our life and strength.
You are God’s Diamond in His Heart.
A diamond is considered the hardest stone in the whole earth. No two diamonds are identical. Each one of them possesses unique characteristics that cannot be seen in another one. There are 4 C’s in order to determine a diamond’s value: cut; clearness; clarity; and carat. The more intricate the diamond’s cut is, the higher is its price. The more defined and clear each facet is, the more precious the stone is. The diamond’s price also ranges depending upon the carat that it possesses. We are God’s diamond in His heart because we are His treasured possession. Because we are His precious gems, God refines us for us to be the brightest and majestic diamond that we could ever be. God disciplines all those whom He loves because God does not want them to go astray that will lead to their own destruction.
You are God’s Child in His Heart
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Luke 15: 17-22
Have you ever wondered why the father of the prodigal son ran after he saw his son from a far? He ran in order to protect his son. It was because during the Old Testament times, the rebellious and stubborn children were stone to death. If any elders of the town who knew what he did to his father will saw him, they have the authority to stone him to death.
“If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.” Deuteronomy 21:18-21
Don’t you think God ran for us? He ran for us in order to save us from eternal damnation. The consequence of our sins is death but God loves us so much that He gave His own life for us to be saved. Jesus died in the Cross of the Calvary not for you to have a value; he died at the cross because you are highly valued. Imagine, the Maker of the stars and universe, the Voice who calmed the raging seas, and the Hand who shaped the very foundation of this world thought about you and He wants to be with you. You are the apple of His eyes. You are of more worth than the sparrows who do not work yet God does not let them to be hungry. You are fearfully and wonderfully made because God knit you with His hands at your mother’s womb. He will never ever forget you because you are His darling and dear.
“Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.” Isaiah 49:15-16 (NLT)
Let me need this blog post with an excerpt from the song above which is entitled When God Ran by Phillips, Craig and Dean
I saw Him run to me, He took me in His arms
Held my head to His chest, said “My son’s come home again”
Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes
With forgiveness in His voice I felt His love for me again
He ran to me, He took me in His arms
Held my head to His chest, said “My son’s come home again”
Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes
With forgiveness in His voice He said, “Son”, He called me Son
He said, “Son do you know I still love you?”
He ran to me and then I ran to Him
When God ran
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10 (NIV)
