Picture yourself at
a 5 Star restaurant, all dressed up and at a very formal affair. Before getting
eating the good meal, you will be served enjoy an appetizer that will take the
edge off your hunger, allowing you to slow down and really enjoy the main
course. This main course will get deep into your inner man and will take some
chewing to get there. Start out with this sweet buttery appetizer of eternal
value. If you take your time with this meal the Holy Spirit will change your
life and equip you for many things in life.
Sit
down and pick up the fork furthest to your left and the knife furthers to the
right.
God’s intent for man, ever since the fall in the Garden,
has been FREEDOM. No I am not referring to political or socio-economic freedom,
but the freedom that is unaffected by circumstance, freedom that one can enjoy
anywhere, anytime, under any circumstance. It is the freedom from sin and the
eternal adverse effects of it. The following terms can take on incredible
meaning in the light of the acceptance of who Jesus is and what He has done for
you personally.
- Forgiven
- Salvation,
- Redemption,
- God’s infinite love,
- The joy of the Lord,
- A clean conscience,
- Not holding any grudges
- Able to love and stay patient
- No more skeletons in your closet
- Being comfortable in your own skin
- The peace that passes all understanding,
Now take a little water, a deep breath and pick
the next fork and knife.
As Christians grow
in the graces of this list they can become increasingly able to deal with
confrontation in a way that Jesus would. OH, did I use a bad word?... Confrontation is an important part of
life and we need to be able to deal with it correctly. If you live in a world
with other people, imperfect people such as yourself, then conflicts will arise,
differences of opinions, hurt feelings, offences, intense disagreements and perhaps
horrific acts of violence. Imperfect people may, intentionally or not, hurt you
or those you love. From the smallest incident, to the most horrendous, the list
of attributes above is available to the Christian. It all boils down to two
words that have immense implications, REPENTANCE and FORGIVENESS.
There are Biblical
concepts that deal with repentance, strong words that our flesh may cringe to
hear. The message of repentance has been preached since the beginning of time
but still needs to resonate in the hearts of people. If you recognize that this
message is spoken to mankind, through God’s servants, motivated by the love
demonstrated at Calvary’s Cross, then it will do you good. I share the
following in the hope that you will be provoked to ask the Lord to search your
heart and show you where to apply it to yourself today.
Sarah was angry and
said to Abraham, “… Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the
The story has
dramatic implications to humanity today. Abraham’s adulterous relationship with
Hagar was a work of the flesh, something that could never accomplish God’s
intent. The descendants of Isaac (the Jews) are still the enemies of the
descendants of Ishmael, Hagar’s baby. Sarah’s dumb idea opened the door for
Abraham and Hagar to give place to their physical attraction and lust for each
other.
Gal.
5:19 When you follow the desires of
your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity,
lustful pleasures,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling,
jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,
21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other
sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living
that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
As Sarah told her
husband to “cast out the bondwoman and her son,” the Lord is telling His church
to cast out the works of the flesh listed in the verses above. Tap into His
grace to get the junk out of your life. Never again try to accomplish God’s
intent in your own way either. The ramifications of yielding to those things
may have very severe ramifications and stretch for generations. You can avoid a
lot of junk by using God’s checklists in Gal. 5. The bad stuff in listed above,
the good stuff follows:
Philippians
4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever
things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are
of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on
these things.
Thankfully the Bible
makes it simpler still. When John the Baptist, and later Jesus, frequently used
the phrase, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand,” they didn’t follow it
with a long list of what not to do. In John 16:7 and 8 we see that the Holy
Spirit’s job is to bring the conviction of sin to an individual’s life. This Holy
Spirit inspired conviction stirs a heart to Godly sorrow which brings
repentance. The consequence of such real repentance is forgiveness. True
FREEDOM comes to the believer in this process. It is all due to the work of
forgiveness that Jesus did by allowing Himself to suffer the consequences of
our sins. John 3:16 becomes a personal reality. On the other hand; the consequences
of not casting the bondwoman and her son out of our lives is that the door
opens to the enemy of your soul. The devil then demonstrates his evil intent in
the destroyed lives we see in people around us, in the families so
dysfunctional that friction between spouses ruins the lives of the children, in
every other horrible manifestation of man’s inhumanity to man.
Digging a little
deeper, the Word says,
1
John 2:15 Do not love the world or the
things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not
in him.
16 For all that is in the world—the lust of
the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not
of the Father but is of the world.
17 And the world is passing away, and the lust
of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
The three things
listed in verse 16 are a great guide to learning right from wrong. Every bit of
bad stuff in all the realms of human behavior all falls into one of these three
categories:
·
the
lust of the flesh,
·
the
lust of the eyes, and
·
the
pride of life
How do we avoid those
three broad categories of attitude and behavior?
Romans
8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit.
2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the
law of sin and death.
If your enjoying
this part of life, there’s less and less room in your heart for the two lusts
in the list.
1
Pet.5:6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right
time he will lift you up in honor.
2
Pet 3: The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
When walking in these
promises there’s no need for self exaltation, just trust God to get you where
you need to be. This not only applies to career but any other thing selfish
pride can mess up. Humility is your weapon against pride. We can be FREE from
worrying and striving in our own futile, limited humanness to get there.
These two passages also
bring us back to what I wrote earlier about confrontation. These are invaluable
tools to dealing with the adversity caused by people, no matter what their
intentions are. Before initiating or participating in the inevitable
confrontation, “cast out the bondwoman and her son” from your life, let God
root out the vestiges of the fleshly things in your life that distract you from
walking in the Spirit. Only God can fulfill His promises to you personally so
stop trying to make them happen. We can deal with the issues of life graciously
because we can tap into the grace of God to do so. With the junk out of your
way you are FREE TO LOVE and those on the other side of the table.
OK, it’s
time for desert. You may use any silverware left at your place setting:
Think about the
following verses in the context of repentance, forgiveness and seeing God
accomplish His objectives in your life by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Psalm
24:3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy
place?
4 Only
those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell
lies.
5 They
will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their
savior.
Eph.
2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God:
9 Not
of works, lest any man should boast.
Gal.
5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free,
and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
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