Please watch the video introduction to my message here:
Anything we pursue in life has the potential to enslave us, but pursuing Christ frees us; why?
Adam and Eve’s disobedience caused them to lose the Holy Spirit, just as we do when we sin. Sin causes a break in our fellowship/communion with the Lord. Similar to an argument between your spouse or your child. Until amends are made, and forgiveness enters the relationship, separation remains. It is no different with God. However, forgiveness carries a heavy price tag on God’s end.
To forgive my wife or her to forgive me requires a heart-to-heart conversation. For God to forgive us brings Him back to the cruelty of the Cross and His Son hanging there, saying, “Father forgive them for they no not what they are doing.” God’s Kingdom runs on principles of holiness that cannot be violated. Our longings and desires have been corrupted even with Christ in our lives. We must learn to honor and love God, which is our created purpose. We do not understand that because of sin’s effect on our life. We cannot love God as such because we love ourselves too much. Hence, we are naturally absent of God’s presence, but through repentance and placing our trust in Christ, we can again enter into the relationship we were created for.
When we pursue our passions absent of Christ, we can find contentment, but it is short-lived. As time goes on, we find we need more. More money, achievement, praise, challenges, etc., and our life becomes driven. If we accept Christ, the Holy Spirit comes, which is what Born-Again means. However, the Holy Spirit is jealous of us, and He wants no other gods in our lives. We’ve all heard the saying that three is a crowd, well that’s very true for us. So He starts to mess things up in our life. The things that we used to enjoy and thought were necessary must go. We learn that we made little gods out of them, seeking fulfillment from them. As we pray and read our Bibles, we begin to find the peace we have longed for. So, as we make purposeful decisions to seek Him and forsake our past “lovers,” our sense of well-being grows. Yet, make no mistake, it’s a fight between light and darkness, between Truth (Freedom) and deception (enslavement), and we decide who wins.
If we spend hours on social media, hanging out with non-believers (our friends who do not value God), and maybe two hours a week at church or reading a devotional, guess who wins? The world does. Whoever we spend the most time with influences us the most. We must make purposeful decisions to add to our faith, and as we do, righteousness, peace, and a sense of feeling good about ourselves grow. If we choose to go our way, we will not change. Then we are back to feeling insecure about ourselves, empty and depleted. Feeling good about a bad decision is virtually impossible if you are genuinely born again. God’s hand is on you, convicting you, calling you to return to Him. Even if you have never accepted Christ, you can be experiencing these feelings because Christ is calling you out of the world unto Himself.
There were very few people God recognized and used in the Old Testament because of our sinfulness. We find that these people were prophets and a few kings. They were people who feared God, and they had this reverential fear of God in common. Because of our affluence, many of us live as though we do not need God; most of our needs are met. We believe in Him but are not desperate or dependent upon Him. We do not read His Word or pray daily; for example, we thank Him for our meals. If we are having a difficult day, we might pray. The expression “to walk with God,” as in “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis:5.21-24), means a frequent dialogue with God, as one has with a close friend or spouse.
I love Creation; it reminds me to dialogue with my Heavenly Father. There are these tiny birds I see during my work day and how detailed they are in their plumage; or when we travel east on the 80, I see the vastness of the mountain ranges, and it all speaks to me about a God who is detailed in His making and vast and grand in His powers, and I tell Him so. Taking note of all these things helps build my faith in the hard times. Another example is when we clean our homes. That can become one of the most intimate prayer times as we ask the Lord to clean our soul and remove the sins that cling so easily. Or when work is frustrating, ask the Lord for wisdom and endurance to see it through, just as He, Christ, completed each daily task the Father had for Him. If you ask Him to open your eyes and heart, many circumstances can become a prayer.
For those of us who are married, do you remember when you were dating your spouse; was there any such thing as talking to them too much? And when we were apart, we were always thinking about them. That is precisely the relationship God is wanting with us. A love relationship. If we would only believe that this is exactly how God feels about you and me. He does not care if you are “somebody.” Understanding and believing this, don’t you think you would read more and seek to know the God that loves you so? There is no grandeur privilege in the world other than to “walk with God.” Insecurity comes because we were never meant to be disconnected from God. But because we are, insecurity entered man’s heart, but from the beginning, it was never meant to be so. Christ came to reverse that.
Psalms 139:17-18
How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with Thee.
The Lord constantly has us on His mind. Unfortunately for us, life can turn into routines. We go to work, we come home, we take the kids to football, dance, or cheer (as it is in my family), come home, have dinner, take a shower, go to bed, and wake up to do it again. The routine of life can, if allowed, make our walk with God routine as well. We can become stale in our seeking. We maintain this spiritual routine until a trial or a crisis strikes, and the seeking becomes desperate. We begin to understand how fragile our world is. We are not as insulated as we thought, so we learn that it doesn’t just happen to the other guy but also to us. Through these crises, we learn to prioritize what is essential, and now it’s not about my agenda but His. How many of us can attest to this? Tragedy or crisis, as it were, takes the “dust off” our relationship with God, and we re-appreciate what we have been blessed with.
How can we prevent the routine of life from collecting dust on our relationships, especially our walk with God? I don’t think we can completely. I think it’s human nature to do so, and we need to go through trials and defeats for those experiences to change us and become the impetus for us to grow and seek Him. They help us cut the strings of human relationships that keep us from trusting God solely. Let me share some critical verses from Jeremiah, the prophet.
Jeremiah 17:5-6
Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited (a picture of what happens to our soul).
I am a little concerned that as we live life on the foundation of our faith, to love the Lord with all our heart gets diluted because of these relationships not only with them but with activities, schedules, and or business, and soon, almost without knowing it, we have drifted and our foundation is weak. Our “faith” can quickly become a mixture of good deeds and religion( religion is like staying married, but there’s no love). As such, this “spiritual cancer,” I’ll call it, grows going undetected, and no bells are going off; in fact, we are mostly enjoying life. Kids are good, marriage is good, and there’s money in the bank, but then, as we think back, we remember days when we felt God’s presence more and prioritized Him more; what happened? And instead of addressing it as we should, we dismiss it and keep moving forward, unaware that our spiritual cancer is growing. What can we do?
Psalms 119:9-12
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse (or anyone) his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
First, confess it to the Lord and then understand there can be no compromise between activities, schedules, etc., and reading the Word. I read my Bible during lunch daily; at times, lunch is at 5 p.m. The day has been so busy that I could not stop, but my time with Him is non-negotiable. So whether it’s at noon or five is not the important part; the important part is that I spend time with my Father daily. Next, we must acknowledge that our work (or business) can make us feel needed and important. It’s kind of a fake phobia. We need to acknowledge that and repent. Nothing is more critical and needful than when God calls you into a relationship with Him; that’s paramount to anything else we do or will ever do. Do you believe this? Most of us don’t, and that’s where the problem lies. What did God tell Joshua, and do you think it applies only to Joshua or us?
Joshua 1:8-9
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make — thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
***I know that He is not just speaking to Joshua but to all who follow Him and want to conquer their carnal man or woman and life in general. We also want to go through our lives sensing His presence and being His light in our world. Therefore, ask yourself what activities, actions, or thoughts are taking you away from Him. In Bible times, the Kings would make alliances with other kings when they perceived that the enemy King coming against them was stronger than them. Judah’s Kings did this constantly, which offended God greatly. However, a few Kings, like King David and King Hezekiah, for instance, trusted God. Even when the odds were ridiculously against them, they’d trusted, and God delivered. Because of their trust, God was able to be God, which allowed the nation to experience His love, provision, and protection.
Isn’t that the point of difficulty that we demonstrate and teach our family that God is faithful? As they grow up and face their difficulties, they will have a legacy from their parents of God’s faithfulness. What better “life education” can there be? Our lives are continually telling a story; what story is your life telling? Do we make alliances to self-promote with decisions/ people that do not fear God? Or are we trusting the Lord to promote/provide for us? It’s one or the other. It cannot be both.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit (so cool that we have the opportunity to be just like this tree).
The heat and the year of drought are the things that cause the tree to spread out her roots in search of water, making the tree stronger. When strong winds come, and they will, it stands because it has dug deep into the earth in search of water. As with us, adversity is meant to deepen our relationship (our roots) with the Lord. Through His Word, He waters us. So we too can be planted by rivers of water if we choose to be. This enables us to prosper during the hard times. Remember the last Vida, we are the ones who determine how close to God we want to be and how close He is to us (James 4:8), and then there is this warning….
James 4:6-8
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble (humility, the most incredible jewel one could seek. For in humility one truly begins to see the greatness of God).
Submit yourselves, therefore to God (come under His authority), and “then you can” resist the devil, and (who will flee?) he will flee from you (for now, through submission, you have Power on your side).
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.
Jeremiah 17:9-10
The heart is deceitful above all things and — desperately wicked: who can know it?
I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. (Praise the Lord that He loves us enough to search and try us. Without that, we would be lost in our deceptions).
And because this is true of every one of us, there is a prayer that we need to pray and be prepared for God’s answer.
Psalms 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (never lose the desire to pray this prayer earnestly and to repent when God puts a loving finger on us.
God’s words to a church He was concerned about:
Revelation 3:14-17
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then, because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth (as in bad-tasting water or temperate coffee when you want it hot).
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and need nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked (this is the effect or fruit of pride).
As much as it hurts to be in God’s crucible, it is one of the safest places on all the earth. In one of the more difficult times of my life, when the pain was intense, God gave me a couple of visions. One was of cattle being branded. Though the branding process was painful for the cow or bull, it gave it its identity. It wasn’t a stray; it belonged to a specific ranch that provided for its care. The following vision (without me saying what I just said) would seem extremely cruel. The pain I was living with was extreme; my heart was breaking for my eldest daughter, who had left the home and gone to Mexico with a friend. She had stopped going to church and wanted to chart her course. Both were too young for such a venture, and I knew satan wanted her. I prayed constantly, many times through tears.
Those years were long and painful, and my steps were heavy as I sought God for her. I asked God why the pain was so intense. I was not the only parent struggling with their kids. He returned to the cattle branding and showed me an operating room. Here’s the part that seems cruel. Job (Old Testament) went through his crisis, which on the outside seems very cruel of God until you read the end of the story. That experience is what made Job. He kept his integrity and never once profaned God’s name, which satan bet he would.
So, in answering my question about the intensity of the pain, He first showed me an operating table. On that table, I had no shirt on, and the surgeon had a hot iron in his hand. He took that iron and placed it firmly on my chest. The pain was so intense my mind blew up with it. I could not think. I jerked, screamed, and tried to get up and flee the pain, but I was firmly tied. The pain lasted for what seemed hours until finally, through exhaustion, I succumbed to it, and numbness set in.
When the surgeon removed the brand, I saw it was in the shape of The Cross, and then the surgeon removed his mask and, with eyes of the deepest love, looked at me, and I saw it was my Lord, and then I woke up. I lay in my bed for some time, trying to understand. Did it take this much pain to make me His? I never got an answer, so I went to the Book of Job to see if I could get some insight. I saw that God never answered Job, either. However, through it all, he experienced God in such a tangible way that he would not have gained such intimacy without it. I think any of us who have had periods of suffering and remained faithful to God would agree. If intimacy with God is the goal, then no price is too much to pay. Do you believe this?
After this period, His presence became so much more real to me. My experience gave me a deeper appreciation for what Christ suffered for me and whose sufferings were beyond human experience. I was good with not getting an answer; I didn’t need one. So, like Job and many of us who undergo hard trials, the trials and hardships refine us, making us stronger and more committed. It is also important to note that our personal experiences, good or bad, do not define God. In other words, God is not good because I am having a good day, and conversely, if I am having a terrible day, God does not suddenly become a bad God. God is always righteous and loving regardless of what I am experiencing, and in so believing, I, too, maintained my integrity before God. Through His Word, God defines Himself, and the suffering He endured for us all is more than sufficient to forever keep Him out of the arena of human judgment. Finally, after three long years, she came home with stories of Divine protection, and I just wept. That experience has turbocharged my prayer life and has put steel in my soul.
Revelation 3:19-20
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous, therefore, and repent (because He loves, He chastens and rebukes; it’s for no other reason than to purify us and draw us closer to Him).
Behold, I stand at the door (of your heart), and knock (that conviction is God knocking, don’t ignore it): if any man hears my voice and opens the door, I will come unto him and will sup with him, and he with me (repentance opens the door to sweet fellowship with the Lord).
Job 42:1-6
Job’s Humility
Then Job answered — the LORD, and said,
I know that thou canst do everything and that no thought can be withheld from thee (that’s amazing; not even our supercomputers can know our thoughts).
Who is he that hideth (as in concealing his sins) counsel (as in giving advice) without knowledge (this is Job rebuking himself; he earlier on held God in judgment) therefore have I uttered that (which) I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. (Earlier in the passage, God said this to Job, so now Job repeats God’s words back to himself, realizing how blind he was).
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.
Before trials and tragedy, we credit ourselves with a certain amount of knowledge; however, after encountering the Lord, we realize how little we know. This blindness, or lack of spiritual sight, is because of our sinful nature. If we yield to it, drifting from God begins as our consciousness becomes a bit more seared (calloused). If we continue down this road, as many have, it can and will lead to backsliding. Eventually, we can wake up one day to find that we don’t believe in God. It can become that serious. I’ve talked to plenty of people who have said I used to go to church and believe in God, but I don’t anymore.
They allowed their disobedience, which may have started as a hurt, to fester until it became so bad that it became a wedge between them and God. Satan then used that to remove faith from their heart. Once that happens, it’s just days before they decide to walk away.
Blaming God is the lazy man’s way out. To not wrestle with pain and disappointment or seek counseling is to do a massive injustice to the love that put Christ on the Cross for us. We are only seeing our pain and not His. We need to see His; we need to see that His pain far exceeds anything that we would ever go through. If you have a hard time believing this, read all four gospel accounts of the day leading to the Crucifixion and the day of, and then read Isaiah 52, a prophecy of His Crucifixion. Just because we do not understand is not cause to walk away; we need the Lord. We are at our own expense being too myopic.
Father God,
We cannot see the effect sin has on us, and we don’t know without You revealing to us through trials the effect of our sinful nature, our rebellion, and our pride. We need to be sanctified by You. Humble us, Father, and create a church that loves You and seeks to love You first, before anything, and then let us become Your light, arms, and voice.
Amen,
Your son by Grace, Arthur
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