How to have God working on your behalf

I’m sure that every person here today would like to have God constantly working on their behalf. Imagine God stepping in to deal with your affairs - God Almighty representing you!

2 Chronicles 16:9 declares, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.” The Amplified states, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is blameless toward Him.”

Notice, the Lord is constantly scanning the whole earth, looking for a special kind of person to defend. Someone on whose behalf He can exercise His mighty strength and power. And quite simply, this kind of person is someone whose heart is perfect toward Him! The Hebrew word translated “perfect” means “whole” or “complete” and is only used in conjunction with the word heart, that is, “perfect heart.” But notice, this perfection is not referring to your physical heart, because it is your inner life that should be perfect, complete and blameless toward God. To many of you this may sound impossible.

However, on closer examination you should see something very significant. It is a perfect heart toward God that is mentioned and not a perfect heart in all things! Religious people spend much of their time trying to be perfect toward man, and to be seen as blameless in their own eyes. But God looks at the heart. Your outer life [physical existence] is subject to change because of the weaknesses of the flesh, and God recognises this fact. That’s why He has chosen to look at your heart.

You may not be able to achieve perfection in all things but your inner life can be perfect. Otherwise God would not bother scanning the whole earth so such people. Why would He?

Just before handing over the throne to his son, King David prayed and asked the Lord to “give unto Solomon a perfect heart” [1 Chronicles 29:19]. David must have know his son needed divine assistance in everything. Consequently, Solomon had “Al Shaddai” working on his behalf throughout his life, and the Bible says, “He prospered in all things” and, “God bestowed on him royal splendour such as no King in Israel ever had before” [Chronicles 29:25].

Who would like some of the same? I know I would! But the million dollar question is this, “How can you have a perfect, complete and blameless heart toward God?”

I have found three basic qualities that must be present in order for your heart to be blameless before Him. And these are qualities that we must all cultivate in our Christian walk. They are - purity, humility and faith.

[1] PURITY OF LIFE. In 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 the apostle Paul uses five elements to draw a dividing line between God and the world system. On the one side he places Christ, light, righteousness, faith and the house of God. On the other he lists Satan, darkness, lawlessness, unbelief and false worship. Paul states that you cannot mix these components of life, you must choose to live on one side or the other. Remember, a perfect heart will always locate itself on the side of God, truth and justice, with no compromise.

In another passage of scripture, Paul shares with Timothy another reason for moral purity [godliness].

2 Timothy 2:19-21, “Everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord must turn away from impurity. In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some ignoble. If a man cleanses himself for the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared for any good work.”

The simple truth brought out by this passage is this - only you can make this choice. You can choose which kind of vessel you would like to be in the household of God. You can be a vessel of honour or dishonour. And the main criteria by which God decides whom He will use for His eternal purposes here on earth are spelled out in verse 21... “Those who purge themselves of dishonourable characteristics will be vessels of honour.” The NIV says, “Will be used for noble purposes.” God is looking for people whose lives are clean and pure on the inside. He is always asking the question, “What’s going on inside?” After all, before any vessel can be used it needs to be cleaned on the inside! The outside appearance is for decoration.

[2] HUMILITY OF MIND. Humility should be the hallmark of any man or woman of God. God requires that this quality be evident in all of His children. 1 Peter 5:5,6 says, “Clothe yourselves in humility toward one another, because God opposes [resists] the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up [promote you] in due time.”

The corrosive effect pride has on a persons life can be seen clearly in the life of Ussiah, one of the Kings of Judah [2 Chronicles 26]. At first his heart was pure and his attitude correct, and he became very famous and successful. God’s blessings were evident in his life. But then came his downfall. The problem? He was unable to handle success - he became riddled with pride. So God opposed him and struck him down with leprosy. God did not show Himself strong on his behalf!

King Nebuchadnezzar also fell because of pride. “But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened with pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne and they took his glory from him” [Daniel 5:20]. Pride’s totally against God’s nature which is love, and it is top of the list of things He detests or hates [Proverbs 6:16,17].

Humility on the other hand brings God in on the scene - to lift you up and do great things on your behalf.

[4] RELENTLESS FAITH. The Bible tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith [Hebrews 11:6]. If you want God working on your behalf you must first please Him, therefore, your faith must be relentless and unwavering. Here are four aspects of faith that will reflect your inner life:

Having true faith means that you genuinely believe that God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus [Philippians 4:19].
Having faith means you believe that God delights in the prosperity of His people, and that Jesus came so you may have life more abundantly [Psalm 35:27 - John 10:10].
Having faith also means that you believe God to be absolutely and fully trustworthy [Psalm 199:137,138].
Having faith means that you believe in God’s mighty miracle-working power - His ability to save, deliver and set free [Mark 9:23]. And you accept that this power can effect your everyday life - in the positive.

LET HIM SHOW HIMSELF STRONG ON YOUR BEHALF!

Chris Demetriou, 27/11/2005