Andy Park

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Going Deep and High Introduction 

This is the first of a series called GOING DEEP AND HIGH.  My goal in this series is to impart to others what God has given me in forty-seven years of knowing him.  I thought the first four decades of experiencing God were wonderful, and they were.  The past four years have been remarkable.  

I’ve experienced open access to God and to heavenly realities in a way I’ve never known before.  And I am more settled and secure and content in living the day-to-day Christian life than ever before.  And I continue to mature in my ability to love people.  Paul says, “make love your highest goal.”  The older you get, the more wisdom and experience you have to pass along.  I am very energized about sharing what I’ve learned with anyone who is interested.  

Here are some of the topics I’ll be looking at.   There are two large categories.  The first is Understanding and Experiencing Spiritual Realities and the second is Applying these concepts to the challenges of daily life. 

Spiritual realities such as who God is, who you are, and what heaven is all about are more permanent and enduring realities than your current occupation, your income, or the problems you are facing right now.  When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he said to pray this:  “Let your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  

What’s happening in heaven?  Who is there, and what are they experiencing?  Of course, the Father, son and Holy Spirit are there, and they are everywhere.  But YOU are also there.  You are seated in the heavenly places if you are in Christ.  “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,”  (Ephensians 2:6).  That’s one of those sentences you read in Paul’s writing that you skim over and say, “Mmmm.  Sounds good.”  To really live into that truth is absolutely life-changing.  You are a co-inheritor of all that Christ has inherited.  We are co-heirs with Christ.  This is what Paul teaches.  

So you, as a spirit-being, are in heaven, yet you are here on earth.  So, you are in two places at once.  You might say, you are a multi-dimensional person.  That’s what the Bible teaches.  One of the key spiritual realities we need to understand is that we are first and foremost spirit people.  We are humans, but the eternal part of us, the part of us that has first contact with God is our spirit.  

Here is a quote from Dallas Willard:  “You are a never-ceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God's great universe.  You are spiritual in substance.  You are never going to stop existing -- there's nothing you can do about that so get used to it.”  

So, since you are seated next to Jesus in the heavenly places, how far away is God from you?  In fact, your human spirit is intertwined with the Holy Spirit.  You are one with him!   “Whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.”  (1 Cor 6:17)  It’s the same thing Jesus said using different language.  Jesus said “I am the Vine, you are the branches.”  “I make my home in you, and you make your home in me.”  Jn 14 

I believe that by-in-large, the church hasn’t really understood or applied these kinds of truths.  For example, I think most Christians think of God as “out there somewhere” rather than permanently dwelling in themselves.  Since God is inside of you, how hard is it to hear his voice?  He is actually a part of your being.  You are not God, but you do “partake in the divine nature,” as Peter wrote in his letter.  Understanding and living in these deep truths is a lifetime pursuit.  This is the mystery of Christ in us.  

If your spirit is ONE with Christ, how does that make you feel about yourself?  How do you think God sees you?  A major teaching of Jesus and Paul that has enormous implications for moment by moment living is that Christ is our life.  Paul makes the amazing statement  “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20). The old us is dead.  “We” no longer live.  The new “us” is Christ in us.  Christ + us.  Not two, but not one, either.  The new you is you and the Cosmic Christ.  Cosmic simply means universal.  He has existed for eternity-past and he fills the universe.  

Let’s make this practical right away.  If you are sitting in bumper to bumper traffic and you feel your anger start to rise (like I have hundreds of times), what do you do?  I find that it DOES NOT work to say to myself, “Don’t get angry!”  What works for me is (1) surrender, and set your intention on your spirit rather than trying to analyze everything around you and argue with what is happening (2) Recognize who you are.  Who are you?  You are joined to Christ.  Christ is your super-power.  You hitch a ride on his righteous ways.  You are sitting in the back seat.  You remind myself what is true.  You don’t grit my teeth and try to “become good.”  You recognize that you contain the Good One.  The way you see yourself changes the outcome of your behavior.  This is faith in action. 

In summary, because spiritual reality is more powerful and eternal than physical reality, we can access who we are and who God is in the Spirit, and reign over our physical circumstances.  Reigning with God is something that begins now.  Co-reigning with Christ is one of the things we inherit.  We begin by reigning over our emotions and the way we behave towards the people around us, like our own family members.  

It's all very supernatural and very natural at the same time! 

That’s a taste of things to come in my series GOING DEEP AND HIGH.  Going deep and high with God leads to going long and wide—you will have a long, fruitful life as you allow Christ to live his life through you.

Jesus, Our Oasis 

I love this translation of the famous words of Jesus in the book of Matthew:  “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me.  I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis.” (TPT, Matt 11:28). In most versions of the Bible, we read, “…and you will find rest for your souls.”   The word oasis is defined as “Something serving as a refuge, relief, or pleasant change from what is usual, annoying, difficult, etc.” 

I remember an image from some movie I saw in childhood in which a heat-scorched man, dying of thirst, sees an oasis in the distance.  He starts walking towards it, only to see it disappear as he draws near.  His hope for rescue was shattered. 

In Jesus, we have a continual, abiding-on-the-inside Oasis.  When we reach to him, he will not disappear like a desert mirage.  We can draw from his refreshing at any moment.   We can dip into this inner well to help us let go of our anxiety, stress and anger. 

The next thing Jesus says after the “oasis” line is, “Simply join your life with mine.  Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me.”   I am in a season of learning a deeper meaning of the word “rest.”  Only from a place of rest can we walk in unhindered dialogue with the Lord. 

The waters of our soul and spirit mix with his living water.  When we are weary, we are rejuvenated by his fountain of life within us.   He said that “rivers of living water would flow from our belly.” (John 7).  Let the river of life fill every part of your emotions, soul, mind and body!  Drink deeply.

LET THERE BE LIGHT IN 2022 

At the end of 2021 I was asking God what he wanted to say to me about 2022.  He highlighted some themes from the book of Revelation, chapter 22.   Jesus is presented in that chapter as the light of heaven:  “Night will be no more. They will never need the light of the sun or a lamp, because the Lord God will shine on them.”  We read in 1 John: “God is light.” 

Over the past few years I have thought about the parallels between the light of the sun and God’s light.  From my house I can see a majestic mountain range.  I’m amazed at the vastly different perspectives I see depending on how the light is shining on that mountain range.  The many ways light plays off the white majestic clouds is a glorious thing.  It’s a picture of heaven.  The colors of God in the sky come alive in the light. The combination of many shades of white and grey, piercing blue and the striking pinks, oranges and reds at sunrise and sunset tell the story of a creative God.  He planted in each one of us an appreciation for beauty that is like his own. 

Around once every five years, we get a big dump of snow here in Vancouver that sticks around for awhile.  This is one of those winters.  The brightness of the sun’s light reflecting off the snow is astounding.  On December 30th, as I was pondering this theme of light, I saw an amazing sight.  Long after dark, I could clearly see a purplish-blue sky instead of normal blackness!   The reflective nature of snow opened up my perspective to see color in the heavens.  That’s what God’s light does.   Even when we’re surrounded by darkness, God can open our eyes to see his glory in creation, and to appreciate the good people and things that surround us. 

God’s light to reveal wisdom and knowledge is always available.  But, because of this word I received, I’m expecting an increase of my “seeing ability” this year.  I’m pressing in to see more, learn more and reach for the new things God is opening up. 

Another fascinating application of light in the Bible is that God is not the only light-bearer.  Paul says to his church members, “you are light in the Lord,” and “you are children of the light and children of the day.”  Our nature is now “joined to Christ.”  So it shouldn't surprise us that we…are…light.  (see 1 Cor. 6:17). 

Jesus said, “I am light to the world, and those who embrace me will experience life-giving light, and they will never walk in darkness.”  And he also said to the crowd gathered on a hill, most of whom were hungry and struggling, “You are the light of the world!”  I can picture someone from the crowd hearing what Jesus said, turning to their friend and asking, “Is he talking about us? We are the light of the world?” 

Jesus sees our true nature as being full of spiritual light.  We must train ourselves to see our identity in the same way.  My emotional state goes up and down, especially in the winter when it’s mostly cloudy and wet. So, I declare over myself the truth, “I am a son of light.  I share the nature of Him who is pure light.”  Jesus is THE light, and we are sons and daughters of light.  We are offspring of God and we bear his image.  (1 Thess. 5:5) 

I hope you see new truths and gain much more access to God’s light 2022!

The Beauty of Unity - WE LIVE IN YOU 

One of the most beautiful God-mysteries is the interwoven life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit—The Holy Trinity.  This is the only perfectly functional family!   They live in a continual outpouring of mutual love, trust, honor and friendship.  They support one another and defer to one another. 

Another amazing mystery that mirrors the Trinity is the connectedness of the entire Body of Christ, the church.  We belong to one another.  We participate in the one life of Christ together.  We are not complete without one another.  We grow and mature as we connect to the mystically joined network of believers around us.  God made us to be social-spiritual beings. 

And we are so enriched by connecting to our worldwide family!  Around 3 years ago I wrote the song, We Live in You, which is about our unity with God and one another.  The song had an African feel to it.  As I imagined arranging this song, I heard African drums in my head.  I don’t know many folks in Vancouver that play African drums, so I never played the song! 

Years later, I heard an interview with Edgar King, a Vineyard pastor from Kenya.  Edgar has been a worship leader for many years, beginning as a youth in the Vineyard church pastored by his father.  I asked Edgar to sing on We Live in You and invite some of his team members. Edgar invited Joan Nzuki and George Ochieng’ Oula to sing on the track.  They sound great! 

Edgar is fluent in both English and Swahili, so we recorded the song using both languages.  This bi-lingual song reflects the worship style in Edgar’s multi-ethnic church.  Their congregation is quite diverse, so they sing songs in various languages to make everyone feel welcome and connected. 

This reminds me of my many visits to Latin America, where I have enjoyed singing in Spanish.  I have learned so much from my Latino brothers and sisters.  I have shared my experiences of worship in those countries, but it’s always a mutual give-and-take situation.  My life of worship has been deeply enriched by hanging out with my Latino spiritual family. 

When we venture out beyond our own native culture and share life with people of different nations, we see life, God and ourselves with new eyes. 

THE KISS OF GOD 

Here is the first verse of my song The Power is in the Kiss: 

The power is not in a top down ultimatum 

It’s not in the angry raising of your fist 

The power is not in your well defended position 

Real power, purest power is in the kiss 

In many arenas of society in the past year we have seen a lot of what I describe as the “wrong kind of power” in this first verse:   “top down ultimatums, angry raising of your fist, well defended position… calling down heaven’s fire on the ones we think are lower than ourselves.”  These actions and attitudes flow from a belief that “I am right, I have the power, and I am going to exert my power to get my way, even if it means I will dominate you and show violence in doing so.”  

In his book, “A More Christlike God,” Bradley Jersak describes the way Christ rules:  “…Christ rules through love rather than coercion—through persuasion rather than force—through revelation rather than domination.” 

Jersak goes on to explain that consent rather than coercion is how the Father and the Son relate to one another.  “Consent is the divine act of love between Father and Son.  Some have said that as the Father kisses the Son, the Holy Spirit is the kiss.  The Son shows his love for God the Father by continually consenting—obeying, surrendering, yielding—to his Father’s will (and God’s will is love!).” 

Jesus showed us a very different kind of power than we see in some of our modern-day politics.  He showed us and upside down kind of cruciform power – going to the cross.  He showed is kenotic power – emptying himself of his rights to exercise authority as God (Philippians 2).  Kenosis means to “empty yourself of self will.” 

The kenotic and cruciform power of Jesus is described in the bridge of “The Power is in the Kiss:” 

It’s the power of love reaching across the great divide 

Embracing the lonely ones on the other side 

It’s the power of the peaceful dove   

The power of an open door 

The power of an outstretched hand    

Giving help to the weak and poor 

The power of real surrender, it’s the power of letting go 

It’s the weakness of an earthen vessel, 

Filled with power, purest power from above 

In marriage and in all relationships, surrendering our power, or letting other people have their way is often the right choice.  Another way of saying that is from 1 Cor 13:  “Love is not insisting on your own way.”  This is how I approach my relationship with Linda, my wife.   It’s also the way I try to behave in my interactions with friends, co-workers and strangers in the marketplace. 

Though we don’t automatically allow ourselves to be run over or abused, at the very least we are called to show love and respect at all times to all people.  Paul writes to Titus, “…be peaceable and considerate, and always…gentle toward everyone.”  (Titus 3:2)

Meditations Series – Celebrating 45 Years Walking with Jesus 

I’ve travelled a rich journey of knowing God through the last several decades.  To be exact, it’s 45 years since I started walking with the Lord in my first year of university studies.  I had never imagined that God could be so real, so involved in my life, and so willing to reveal himself to me. 

To celebrate these first 45 years of my walk with Jesus, I am writing a series of 45 Meditations on all sorts of subjects that have been key lessons for me along this road.  Some topics offer advice on how to deal with specific challenging situations of life, and some are big-picture topics that form the spiritual foundations we walk on. 

You can see several episodes of this series on the 45 Meditations page on this website.  All of the Meditations are posted on my Youtube page @ Andy Park.

My Great Reward 

Abraham is one of my favorite Bible characters.  He walked a very long journey of faith.   God made very great promises to him:  2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing… all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 

As great as those promises were, they were NOT Abraham’s “great reward.”  His great reward was the person of God – walking with and being a friend of God.  Abraham enjoyed many earthly blessings.  He had a beautiful wife (Gen 12:11), many servants and was wealthy: “Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold” (Gen. 13:2).  “Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels” (Gen. 12:16). 

Abraham’s life is a very important example for all of us.  God promised him, “descendants … as numerous as the stars in the sky.”  Though God may generously bless us in many ways on the earth, none of those promises are our ultimate treasure.  HE is our ultimate treasure.  

If I get too focussed on the promises of things God is planning for me, I become very disappointed.  Accomplishing goals or attaining possession or even having special relationships will ultimately disappoint us if they are our ultimate treasure.   If we make idols of earthly blessings, in the long run they will fail to satisfy us. 

I encourage you to enjoy friendship with God today and every day.  Don’t forget that God is at your side, in your heart, above you and below you and behind you and before you.  In a way, it’s not so much what you do in life as Who you do it with that counts.

God is Stirring the Waters 

In John 5, we read the story of the man who was sick for 38 years, and was waiting for his healing.  He was lying among the hundreds of sick who were gathered at this pool in Bethesda.  Jesus asked him if he wanted to get well.  He said that he wasn’t able to be the first one into the pool when the angel began to stir the waters.  The first one in always got healed. 

Jesus healed him on the spot.  No angel was necessary, no jumping in the pool was necessary.  The man didn’t even answer Jesus with a strong, “YES, I want to be healed!”   Instead, he brought his lament to Jesus – he wasn’t quick enough to jump in the pool first.  Jesus showed mercy to this man who had been crippled for decades. 

By healing him on the spot, Jesus was saying, “I’m here, and I’m all you need.  You don’t have to wait for an angel.  There is no lack of healing available.  Healing isn’t reserved for the clever and able ones who manage to get into the front of the line.” 

In the past year, God has been “stirring the waters” big time in my life.  Did you know that the average adult human body is 50-65% water, averaging around 57-60%?   The natural things speak of the invisible.  Jesus said we would have living water gushing out of us if we come to him and drink.  The river of God never stops flowing. 

I hear so many stories from around the world of God stirring the waters in peoples’ lives.  In the John 5 healing story, no angel was present.  But in these days, angelic visitations are not occasional.  They are constant.

I believe the veil between our earthly existence and stepping into the kingdom of heaven is thinner than ever.  People who persistently push through this veil will experience more and more of God’s love, healing, glory and empowering for daily life. 

The first week of June will mark the beginning of my new video series called The Pool of Healing.  The word translated “healing” in the new Testament is sozo.  This word describes much more than physical healing.  It describes deliverance from evil, salvation of our souls, restoration of our minds, emotions and social relationships.  Sozo brings about a general state of well-being, and it prepares us to be conduits of living water to others. 

My video series will include stories, songs, prophetic words, and sharing what I’ve learned about walking with Jesus over the past four decades.  You can check it out on my youtube channel.

Unlock Love with Your Eyes and Words 

Unlock Love, post #3

Unlocking love can’t happen unless we are seeing God everywhere and acknowledging him with words.  By opening the gates of our eyes, emotions, ears and minds to God-reality, and marvelling at the miracles all around us, we get in flow of his love. 

The writer of Psalm 36 was surround by haters.  He starts by giving a lurid description of rebellious, conceited, evil-doing, self-centered liars. But the transition between verse 1-4 and 5-10 is striking.  He does a 180 degree turn.  He turns his attention to the ‘meteoric’ love of God! 

How does he keep from spiralling down into a pit of negative emotion?  It’s not by repenting with sackcloth and ashes.  How does he get his mind off those who are attacking him?  He thinks about the ‘astronomic’ faithfulness of the Lord.  How does he stay out of self-pity and self-centeredness?  He thinks about God’s tender care and kindness that leaves no one forgotten. 

How does he get out of bemoaning the ubiquitous ‘virus’ of people who ignore God and are constant doing evil?  He marvels at the ‘oceanic’ justice of God.  This is a great example of gratitude and worship DISPLACING all the bad feelings and thoughts.  It’s impossible to be stuck in a “woe-is-me”  mindset if we’re standing in awe of Love Divine. 

If we look at life from our seat in the heavens (Eph 2:6), we see reality from God’s point of view and speak into existence a positive vibe. 

When I go on a walk to pray and sing, I see God everywhere.  I feel him in the fresh, cool wind.  I see his glory in the sun, the trees and blue sky. I see amazing glorious clouds and say, “that’s the glory of God!”  (the spiritual reality behind the physical reality). 

As you go about your daily chores, say things like: 

“O God, how extravagant is your cherishing love!” 

“Your great faithfulness is infinite.” 

“You’re a fountain of cascading light, and you open our eyes to light.”

The Corona Virus is a Crown that will Not Last  

The Coronavirus gets its name from the word ‘corona’ which means crown in Latin and in Spanish.  Coronavirus has a series of crown-like spikes on its surface, which is the reason for the name. 

Names are significant.  In the midst of a lot of panic and fear over the Coronavirus, how can we be encouraged by the biblical symbol of the crown?  The metaphor of the crown is used in many ways in the Bible. 

While most of the uses of “crown” in the Bible refer to the exalted status of God and kings, and the crown worn by every believer who runs the race of faith, there are also negative uses of the word.  Locusts wear crowns (Rev 9), as do the beast and dragon in Revelation (Rev 12, 13).  This speaks of a destructive power.  

The Coronavirus is a bad kind of crown.  But there is good news… The Coronavirus WILL NOT LAST.   It will fade away.  Before we know it, we will be remembering it as a thing of the past… “Remember that crazy virus?” 

The Apostle Paul made a big deal out of difference between temporary and eternal crowns.  He writes about the imperishable crown that goes to the Christian who completes the race in contrast to crowns won by athletes, which will fade with time. The unfading crown of life, joy and righteousness will last forever.  Peter writes: “when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”  1 Peter 5:4 

While we take practical steps to avoid catching or spreading the Coronavirus, we ought to think about the crown that will last.  The crown of glory we receive as we run the race of faith WILL LAST FOREVER. 

But we don’t have to WAIT to wear crowns from God.  In Christ, we are already wearing the crowns of love, compassion, joy and righteousness. 

“To experience the blessing of his character and activity on one's behalf is said to be a crown. So his lovingkindness and mercy can be a crown (Psalm 103:4) as can mere relationship with him (Isaiah 28:5).” (Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary). 

I encourage you to enjoy your position as a treasured member of God’s family and rejoice in your lasting crown!