April 11^th, 1992                                   "One Thing Have I Desired of the Lord"                                  Mrs. N. D. Daniel

Psalm 27:4

"One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple."

We have read the desire of converted King David. He desired one important thing of the Lord. "That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his temple." After conversion, I believe, everyone will choose Jesus Christ to sit at His feet and learn of Him. They would desire to be with Jesus always, looking at Jesus taking in the beauty and the holiness of Jesus Christ. They would want to be talking to Jesus Christ, all the time. They want answers to their queries and solutions to their problems. King David consulted God for every problem that arose in his life and every situation he faced in his kingdom. He was walking with God and talking with God all the time. He would get up early in the morning with a great longing to see the beauty of God and to enjoy His presence. Three times a day, he would pray. As a King with great responsibilities, he would still make time to pray in the morning, afternoon and in the evening. The beauty of God would so thrill his soul that he would wake up at night to praise God. He would praise God, seven times a day. Some of the converted people here are saying, they feel sleepy in prayer. They say they sleep in prayer. They desire to sleep. I cannot understand them, because here it is said about Mary, "She has chosen to sit at the feet of Jesus Christ and learn and that will not be taken away from her."

After my conversion, I desired nothing but Jesus Christ. There was with us a converted sister, Sister Jamaiamma. She used to spend long hours in prayer. I used to wonder, with family responsibilities and my work as a teacher, how can I spend so much time with God? But since I had chosen Jesus Christ, He spoke to me and said, "You spend two and a half hours each day with me in prayer. I was able to spend one hour in the morning, one hour in the evening, and half an hour in the afternoon, alone with God in prayer. God blessed me during these times. Then, family prayer with my children and prayer with my husband. Like that our hearts were longing to be in the presence of Jesus. So also it was with King David. He followed God very carefully. King Saul also was converted, but he did not have such longings to be with the Lord. He was even given the gift of prophecy and have the privilege of being with prophets. But he never practised spending time alone with the Lord. David would always get answers for his prayers. He was able to please God. His heart overflowed with praise to God all the days of his life. He had many revelations from God. After his conversion St. Paul’s desire was, "I want to know Christ, I want to win Christ. I must be a partaker of His sufferings. I must know the power of His resurrection." And then he said, "If I live I want to live Christ." Such desires come to converted persons. God fulfilled all the desires of St. Paul. But now, some boys and some girls, they do not desire to live for God, and God alone. They want to mix up worldly things and holy things. Many have no deliverance from the love of the world; they miserably fail. Some desire to know the Lord, but they put their own interest first. Their first desire is about marriage, marriage, marriage. They do not know that marriage is a big responsibility. Married people have to build a home for Jesus Christ. They gradually lose interest in the work here. They feel like seeking out a place where they can sleep unnoticed by others. They do not have such faith, as will say, "God will do everything for me when I do everything I can for God." Because of people without faith, we are not able to train prophets and prophetesses in this Fellowship. Mary chose the best part that would not be taken away from her, all the days of her life. God did not take away that gift. She was learning and understanding the deep things of God. With prophetic understanding she anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped them with the hair of her head. Perhaps she understood that Jesus was going to die and this was the last chance to anoint Him. Even the disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying about His death. But because she chose the best part of sitting at His feet and learning deeper things she was able to understand that death was approaching. She chose to sit at His feet and learn of Him. Thus she had a chance to learn the deep and secret things of God. Jesus said, that she did it for His burial. I do not know, what the young boys and girls are choosing for their lives. If converted person desire to be with the Lord, and learn of Him in order to live Christ, they are the people who will become prophets and prophetesses.

I chose to sit at the feet of Jesus Christ many years ago. My desire was granted. That gift of seeing the beauty of Jesus and learning of Him, God, has not taken away till now. I am sharing an recent experience for you. Many of us were present at the funeral of Mrs. Philip. Since the time she gave her heart to Jesus Christ, she loved Him. She brought up her two daughters for God and she was always trying to help souls in need. She lived for sometime close to our Headquarters. She used to share her problems with me and we used to have fellowship together in prayer. She was just eleven months younger to me. She was unwell. She wanted to talk to me. We went to visit her house. She was talking to us as usual and sharing the burdens that lay on her heart. She said, as we were talking the presence of God descended on her. Then she said, there was still some pride in her heart. She had to humble herself and set right certain matters. She lived a beautiful life. As she was talking I understood that she would be taken away soon. So as I left I kissed her and took leave of her. In a short time, she had an opportunity to apologise to the one she felt she had offended. Thus walking with God, she went into the presence of God. If our desire is, "I must be with Jesus and must learn of Jesus, I must live Jesus," these desires will be fulfilled. David, St. Paul, and Mary are a blessing to many generations and even to our generation. Such people, who desire to learn Christ, to live Christ and glorify Christ will be blessings for many generations. But Satan will not allow you to pray and Satan will not allow you to read the Bible. We have to get victory here because Christ is victor. There is no need for us to backslide. When I was converted, I prayed, "Lord let a little food, and a little sleep be sufficient for me." That is what I desired. I wanted Jesus to be all the time with me and I desired to be with Him, and that desire He has not taken away. I know He will not take it away. If you desire Christ and that many should see His salvation, God will grant that desire. You will be a blessing to this generation, to the coming generation and for ever. God wants us to be Christ-like. He wants to bless us with His love. Then with His love, we can do a love ministry. We will see the fulfilment of God’s promises too.