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Gazing at Jesus - Becoming One 

2/28/2016

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In his book, The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer tells us that belief in Christ is really “the gaze of the heart at God."  This practice of inwardly gazing upon God is so important in bringing Christians into a deeper relationship with Him and will, in turn, be the key to bringing a spirit of unity to the Church.
 
Tozer says, "Has it ever occurred to you that 100 pianos all turned to the same fork are automatically turned to each other?  They are of one accord by being tuned not to each other, but to another standard to which one must individually bow.  So one hundred worshipers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship...The whole Church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life."
 
When we are in harmony with God, and with one another, we attract the attention of heaven.  We become like a giant magnet pulling heaven to earth.  Our corporate prayers and worship, lifted in unity, draw the very presence of the Holy Spirit into our midst, along with angels who want to join us. We can read about this happening in Acts 2:1-4.  "Now when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly their came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit..." (NKJV)
 
The apostle Paul recognized the joy that a spirit of unity in Christ brought to the Lord, and so he encouraged the people of the church in Philippi in this way:  "Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.  Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."  (Philippians 2:1-3 - NKJV)
 
Our time here on earth is meant to sanctify us so that we are like Christ Jesus.  We must learn to follow His example in order to become like Him.  Therefore, the inward gaze of our hearts upon the Lord is key to our transformation.  As we see who Christ is we become more like Him.  We all play a part in bringing the Body of Christ into a spirit of unity--One Accord!
 
Jesus came to show us the face of God.  He cared deeply for those who believed in Him and prayed for them and us before His death.  "I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name--the name You gave to me--so that they may be one as we are one...Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth...For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified...I pray also for those who will believe in me through the message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you...I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one." (John 17:11, 17-22)
 
Let us make our prayer like the Psalm that David wrote:  "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek:  that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple." (Psalm 27:4)  Our gaze upon our Savior fine tunes us so that we are in harmony with Him and will be in harmony with others in the Body of Christ who are also gazing at His beauty.  This is when heaven comes to earth!  Let it be, O God!
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    Joan E. Mathias

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