THE THRONE INSIDE
"Before the Lord God made man upon the earth He first prepared for him a world of useful and pleasant thisngs for his sustanance and delight. In the Genesis account of creation these are called simply "things". They were made for man's use, but they were meant always to be external to the man and subservient to him. In the deep heart of the man was a shrine where nonE but God was worthy to come. Within him was God; without, a thousand gifts which God had showered upon him. But sin has introduced complications and has made those very gifts of God a potential source of ruin to the soul. Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and things were allowed to enter. Within the human heart things have taken over. Men have now by nature no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer, but there in the moral dusk stubborn and aggresive usurpers fight among themselves for first place on the throne.
This is not a mere metaphor, but an accurate analysis of our real spiritual trouble..." (A.W. Tozer, "The Pursuit of God").
I am drawn to Tozer's "Throne Room" imagery used to describe the human heart and condition. Within each of us exists a throne, and whomever or whatever sits upon that throne is the entity that rules us. That entity is served as god and first priority. Troy used this image of a central shrine on Sunday when he was talking about David's life. I would agree with Troy; David's life is a classic study of a human letting himself be ruled by different masters. In many cases, David had it right. Indeed, he seemed to grasp the idea of relationship with God more that anyone else in the Old Testament. The Bible describes David as a "man after God's own heart". He knew intimacy with his creator and was a willing servant to that creator's will. As we know, however, David let someone other than his God sit on the throne of his heart. Bathsheba became his god, and in the end he served her and was ruled by his lust for her to the point of becoming an adulterer and murder.
Within each of us exists unimaginable potential for both holiness and utter depravity. I think that the primary difference between sinner and saint is the object that is found to be sitting on the throne of the soul. Whatever sits on that throne gets our allegience. When God is in occupation, He rules with love and grace. When things sit upon that throne, they dominate and beat hearts into submission.
Who, or what, is sitting in the throne room inside of you? Where does your allegiance lie? AS Bob Dyla so aptly put it, "you gotta serve somebody". Who gets the priority in your life? How have you seen God at work when He has occupied the cental shrine of your life?
This is not a mere metaphor, but an accurate analysis of our real spiritual trouble..." (A.W. Tozer, "The Pursuit of God").
I am drawn to Tozer's "Throne Room" imagery used to describe the human heart and condition. Within each of us exists a throne, and whomever or whatever sits upon that throne is the entity that rules us. That entity is served as god and first priority. Troy used this image of a central shrine on Sunday when he was talking about David's life. I would agree with Troy; David's life is a classic study of a human letting himself be ruled by different masters. In many cases, David had it right. Indeed, he seemed to grasp the idea of relationship with God more that anyone else in the Old Testament. The Bible describes David as a "man after God's own heart". He knew intimacy with his creator and was a willing servant to that creator's will. As we know, however, David let someone other than his God sit on the throne of his heart. Bathsheba became his god, and in the end he served her and was ruled by his lust for her to the point of becoming an adulterer and murder.
Within each of us exists unimaginable potential for both holiness and utter depravity. I think that the primary difference between sinner and saint is the object that is found to be sitting on the throne of the soul. Whatever sits on that throne gets our allegience. When God is in occupation, He rules with love and grace. When things sit upon that throne, they dominate and beat hearts into submission.
Who, or what, is sitting in the throne room inside of you? Where does your allegiance lie? AS Bob Dyla so aptly put it, "you gotta serve somebody". Who gets the priority in your life? How have you seen God at work when He has occupied the cental shrine of your life?
posted by Journey Church at 9:05 a.m.
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