Die Ekstase van ‘n Christus Gevulde Lewe
Jesus die bron van ons VREUGDE
God verlang dat ons Hom sal dien met vreugde en blydskap.
Die Here se hart vir ons is, dat ons die lewe en alles wat Hy ons gegee het sal geniet! Ons hoef nie hierdie vreugde te soek en deur pynigende rituele te gaan om dit te ervaar nie, Hy werk ware “bliss” geluk, vreugde en passie in ons deur Christus! Omdat jy die Here jou God nie met vreugde en vrolikheid van hart weens die oorvloed van alles gedien het nie, Deut 28:47 God beplan werklikwaar vir ons lewe en lewe in oorvloed! (Joh 10:10)
Daarteenoor … “On the celebration of the birthday of their prophet and other festivals, they work themselves, by the constant repetition of “Allah, Allah,” into a state of unconscious ecstasy, “in which they plant swords in their breasts, tear live serpents with their teeth, eat bottles of glass, and finally lie prostrate on the ground for the chief of their order to ride on horseback over their bodies.”
GLORY . A major biblical concept, in the word “glory” is the translation in KJV of a variety of Hebrew and Greek words, the most common being kābôd in the OT and doxa in the NT. Developing from the Hebrew concept of “weight, heaviness, worthiness,” the term “glory” in a doctrinal sense is used of God in (Ps 19:1 and (63:2), speaking of the heaviness, awesomeness, or intrinsic worth of God’s being.
Central to the OT usage of the term is the idea of the “glory of Yahweh” (Isa 6:3). In this sense, glory is linked to revelation, and consists of the manifestation of God’s nature. The specific issue in (Isa 6) is the revelation of holiness, and the majestic holiness and glory of God are closely related. At times in the OT this manifestation approximates an overpowering physical appearance of glory, splendor, or brilliance (Lev 9:23; Ex 33:18 ff.). This is theologically represented by the terms “presence,” or “Shekinah glory.”
In the NT the glory of the Lord is seen in connection with Jesus Christ in a variety of ways. The birth narrative in the Lucan account shows that the first advent of Messiah was marked by the appearance of the glory of the Lord (Lk 2:9, 14, 32). This glory, the fullness or sum of all the perfections of the Godhead, was veiled during the earthly incarnate ministry of Christ, except for a brief glimpse at the transfiguration (Lk 9:28 ff.), and at crucial points in Christ’s ministry (Jn 2:11; 11:40). (Heb 1:3) delineates Jesus Christ as the effulgence or radiation of the glory of God.
By sovereign grace, the NT believer is seen as sharing to some extent in this glory now (Rom 8:30; II Cor 4:6). In the resurrected state the believer will be conformed to the glorified Saviour to a far greater extent than now realized, and will share in the eschatological glory of Christ (I Pet 5:4; Rev 21:23). He will be free of the fallen nature and have a resurrection body. Pfeiffer, C. F., Vos, H. F., & Rea, J. (1975; 2005). The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia.
Die mens is geskape met ʼn soeke en begeerte vir ekstase. God het bedoel dat ons hierdie ekstase vind in Hom (Ps 119:16; Job 22:25-26), jou huwelik (Spr 5:18) en die Liggaam van Christus (Joh 17:21). Wanneer ons ons hart wend en fokus op enige goedkoop alternatief, raak ons een met ʼn objek (substance) en verloor ons ons menslike en goddelike eienskappe. Dit is die kern van alle tipes van verslawing. Ons diepste begeerte in verhoudings is om met iemand een te word, ʼn sielsgenoot te vind met wie ons kan oud word. Ware geluk is nie geluk as dit nie met iemand gedeel kan word nie. Verslawing lei tot diepe eensaamheid en ʼn konstante verwydering van sulke sinvolle verhoudings. God het ons dan ook geskape om in eenwording ekstase te ondervind.
Spiritual ecstasy is an altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness which is frequently accompanied by hallucinations and emotional/intuitive (and sometimes physical) euphoria. Eksase bring mee dat ons “invincible” voel, ons voel kragtig en “bold”, jy kan onthou, jy het helderheid, beleef euphoria, en jy is ontspanne.
Omdat ons nie hierdie ekstase eerstens in Hom kry nie, (Mat 6:33) en ook nie in ons maats nie, soek ons dit op ander plekke, en vul die honger in ons hart met musiek, seks, dwelms, voorskrifmedisyne, alkohol, sport, en kos. Alhoewel daar opsigself niks boos is omtrent enige van hierdie “substances” nie, is dit bedoel as aanvullers en nie die kern en wese van ons ontvlugting nie. Hierdie dinge offer kortstondige ontvlugting en ons “voel” tydelike beter, maar hierdie middels bied nie die krag, vermoë en genade om ons probleme te oorkom nie. Dit kan net die Here doen!
Ons het ecstacy die meeste nodig wanneer ons “vulnerable” weerloos is: Moegheid, uitbranding, alleenheid, verveeldheid, stres, spanning, angs, en woede.
Die volgende chemiese middels word natuurlik en spontaan in jou liggaam vrygestel wanneer jy intimiteit met jou maat bereik.
Dopamine: Elevated levels of dopamine in the brain produce extremely focused attention. This chemical causes people to focus intensely on the object of my affection at the exclusion of everything else around them. A release of dopamine is associated with craving and dependency in addiction. Inside the brain, dopamine plays important roles in motor control, motivation, arousal, cognition, and reward,
Norepinephrine: This chemical generates exhilaration and increased energy by giving the body a shot of natural adrenaline. Norepinephrine has also been linked to raising memory capacity. Whatever stimulus is being experienced in the presence of this chemical is “seared” in the brain.
An increase in norepinephrine from the sympathetic nervous system increases the rate of contractions in the heart.[6]
Testosterone: Testosterone is known as the hormone of sexual desire in both men and women. Key hormone of desire, triggering feelings of positive energy and well-being.
Oxytocin: The flood of oxytocin at climax acts as a natural tranquilizer, lowering blood pressure, blunting sensitivity to pain and stress, and inducing sleep.
Serotonin: This natural chemical is released right after climax, exercise, breathing, ecstasy bringing on a deep feeling of calmness, satisfaction and release from stress. Anti-depressant drugs like Prozac are designed to increase levels of serotonin.
Buite die raamwerk van intimiteit en eenwording in ons verhouding met God, ons maat, en die liggaam, word die einste middel wat ons gebruik vir ontvlugting ons tronksel. Ons wat geskape is na God se beeld, raak slaaf van geskape middels.
Hierdie middels werk gewoonlik in ons diepste wese en affekteer ons “reptilian en mammal” brein, alhoewel ons in ons logiese rasionele denke weet en wil om nie in te gee nie, hunker ons diepste wese na hierdie middels, en word ons in die tregter van goedkoop ekstase ingetrek. Die enigste manier om dit te voorkom, is om in ons diepste wese God te ontmoet en te beleef, en met Hom eenwording te ervaar. Sy liefde laat ons blom, skyn, gloei van Sy heerlikheid. Soos wat Moses se gelaat gegloei het.
The Reptilian Brain
This brain is the first to be developed. It is responsible for autonomic bodily functions such as heartbeat, breathing, and temperature control. It is also responsible for the most important human needs, such as survival, feeding and mating.
This brain is part of your subconscious mind. It has a set of pre-programmed instructions that it will always execute. This brain cannot change or learn from past experiences. It only understands images, and does not understand language.
Some of the traits associated with the reptilian brain are: aggression, dominance, obsessiveness, compulsiveness, fear, worship, submission, greed, sex, and seeking a mate.
The Mammalian Brain
This is the type of brain developed by most mammals on top of their reptilian brain. It is your emotional brain – this is the brain that is responsible for making you feel the way that you do. This brain creates chemical messages that allow you to store information in memory. The more emotionally charged the message is, the stronger effect on the brain it is going to have.
This part of the brain is able to learn from past experiences. It ensures that you feel pleasure from the activities intended for your survival, such as eating and sex. This function helps to ensure that you will continue to repeat the favorable behaviors. The emotional brain is also able to learn to associate pain with activities that may threaten your existence, such as getting burned or getting hit by a car.
We like to think that we make most of our decisions based on what we think is right. In actuality, however, we make most of our decisions, on what we feel is right. And this “feeling” is the response that we get from our emotional brain.
The Primate Brain
This is the thinking brain. It controls such things as thinking, language, and creative thinking. This brain is responsible for telling us who we think we are.
Unfortunately, this brain does not have a priority over its two predecessors. For example, in an emergency situation, your brain can cause you to automatically react in a certain way, without you ever having to think about it. This function is crucial to our survival, but it can also present some real problems if our subconscious mind decides to take over, as it often does, in non-emergency situations.
Jesus is pure vreugde!
Die voorhangsel is geskeur (2 Kor 3:7-4:6) Die heerlikheid en glorie wat net vir die hoë priester bedoel was, het nou in ons kom woon. Soos wat ons vanuit hierdie diepe intimiteit met Hom leef, is daar deurentyd momente waar Sy vreugde tasbaar in ons word.
Toe Johannes nog in sy moeder se buik net in Jesus se teenwoordigheid kom, het hy met vreugde opgespring. Want kyk, toe die geluid van jou groet in my ore klink, het die kindjie in my skoot van vreugde opgespring.
Lukas/Luke 1:44 En die engel sê vir hulle: Moenie vrees nie, want kyk, ek bring julle ‘n goeie tyding van groot blydskap wat vir die hele volk sal wees, Lukas/Luke 2:10 Elke keer wat ons Jesus ontmoet, Hom beleef, die Woord vir ons duidelik word, Hy met ons praat, ons lei, ons wys deur iemand anders wat Jesus leef, in die alles vind ons ware vreugde!!!
Kyk net na die volgende “mindmap” en sien die vrymaking en verlossing van jou redding!
Die koninkryk van God (hemel, vrede, vreugde) het gekom, en tuiste in ons hart gevind! (Luk 17:21) Hierdie koninkryk is nie ʼn destinasie nie, maar ʼn bedryfstelsel. Soos wat ons in gehoorsaamheid in Sy genade leef, vul Hy ons lewe met vreugde, nie net subjektiewe ervarings van vreugde nie, maar vreugde wat ander lewens raak. Daar is ʼn plek vir ʼn ekstatiese ervarings in die Here. (2 Kor 5:13) Maar God wil hê ons moet hierdie vreugde deel!
Die Heilige Gees vul ons met vreugde!
Want die koninkryk van God is nie spys en drank nie, maar geregtigheid en vrede en blydskap in die Heilige Gees.
Romeine/Romans 14:17 En die dissipels is vervul met blydskap en met die Heilige Gees. Handelinge/Acts 13:52
Dis beter om te gee as om te ontvang.
dat onder baie beproewing deur verdrukking hulle oorvloedige blydskap by hulle diepe armoede oorvloedig was in hulle ryke milddadigheid. 2 Korintiers/Corinthians 8:2
‘n Gelukkige huwelik!
Geniet die lewe met die vrou wat jy liefhet…
Mag jou fontein geseënd wees, en verheug jou oor die vrou van jou jeug — Pred 9:9 die lieflike wildsbokkie en aanvallige steenbokkie; laat haar boesem jou altyd vermaak, mag jy in haar liefde gedurigdeur bedwelmd wees. Spreuke/Proverbs 5:18
Die vreugde van om ‘n siel te wen.
En hulle is deur die gemeente uitgelei en het Fenícië en Samaría deurgegaan en vertel van die bekering van die heidene, en aan al die broeders groot blydskap verskaf. Handelinge/Acts 15:3
Eenheid is vreugde!
maak dan nou my blydskap volkome deur eensgesind te wees: een in liefde, een van hart, een in strewe. Fillipense/Philippians 2:2 Ek doen ‘n beroep op julle almal, broers, in die Naam van ons Here Jesus Christus, om eensgesind te wees. Daar moet geen verdeeldheid onder julle wees nie. Julle moet een wees in dieselfde gesindheid en met dieselfde oortuiging. 1 Korintiers/Corinthians 1:10
Geniet die gawe van jou werk!
Kyk, wat ek as ‘n goeie ding gesien het, wat voortreflik is, is dat iemand eet en drink en die goeie geniet vir al sy arbeid waarmee hy hom vermoei onder die son gedurende die getal van sy lewensdae wat God hom gee; want dit is sy deel. 18 Ook vir elke mens aan wie God rykdom en skatte gegee het, en wat Hy in staat stel om daarvan te eet en sy deel te neem en hom te verheug by sy moeitevolle arbeid, is dit ‘n gawe van God.19 Want hy dink nie baie aan sy lewensdae nie, omdat God hom laat besig wees met die vreugde van sy hart. Prediker/Ecclesiastes 5:17
In hierdie tyd van verdrukking en probleme op baie vlakke, landbou, ekonomie, verbrokkelings verhoudings gee die Here vir ons ʼn sleutel!
“For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” Jesaja/Isaiah 55:12-13
LEWE ELKE OOMBLIK IN DIE VREUGDE VAN SY NABYHEID!