I have to say my heart is delighted reading Sam Storms’ responses. They are glorious! Simply steep like a tea bag in what he has written until it gets ingrained in you! I have nothing to add to what he has said. But let me show what this might look like, from my perspective, worked out on a daily basis- let me put shoe leather to these grand statements. How will you do this…how will it happen? First, seek to encounter God, encounter Jesus in truth. What this means is that when you come to the scriptures, do not read them for mere doctrine or for biblical understanding. Rather, read until 2 Cor. 3:18-4:6 becomes true of you. Read, like Peter says “until the Morning Star arises in your heart.” Read until “his Spirit is bearing witness with your spirit.” Read until your spirit is actually “tasting and seeing that Jesus is good.” Secondly, pray! Grab these promises and come to the throne of God like the man in Luke 11:5-9 praying with “impudence” (a kind of inappropriateness considering who we are and who God is) saying that we will have nothing for life and to give this world unless he makes these things true of us. Pray expecting to receive. Pray until these things are true. Finally, go and be the “witness” he has called us to be (Acts 1:8). Go be the people whose lives give testimony to the fact that we have been given eyes to see and ears to hear, that we know the living God and that we have encountered him in the gospel and that life in his kingdom is abundant and deeply satisfying. Go and BE these kinds of people to the world…which is being the salt of the earth and light of the world.
Rick Schaeffer born in Long Beach, California, is a church planter-trainer, discipler, and he works with his hands (redoing houses/painting/etc). His favorite movie is Lord of the Rings, his favorite smell is a steak being smoked, his first job was painting houses, and when not engaged in Spiritual disciplines he enjoys to do almost anything if its with his wife Katie or their boys (2 sets of twins).
You can listen to some of Rick's teaching on "Seizing what God has Promised and Made Available" here.