ANYONE who serves God will discover sooner or later that the great hindrance to his or her work is not others but himself or herself. He/she will discover that his outward man and his inward man are not in harmony, for both are tending toward opposite directions. He/she will also sense the inability of his outward man to submit to the spirit's control, thus rendering him incapable of obeying God's highest commands. He/she will quickly detect that the greatest difficulty lies in his/her outward man, for it hinders him from using his spirit.
Many of God's servants are not able to do even the most elementary works. Ordinarily they should be enabled by the exercise of their spirit to know God's word, to discern the spiritual condition of another, to send forth God's messages under anointing and to receive God's revelations. Yet due to the distractions of the outward man, their spirit does not seem to function properly. It is basically because their outward man has never been dealt with. For this reason revival, zeal, pleading and activity are but a waste of tune. As we shall see, there is just one basic dealing which can enable man to be useful before God: BROKENESS.
Notice how the Bible divides man into two parts: "For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man" (Rom. 7:22). Our inward man delights in the Law of God. ". . . To be strengthened with power by his Spirit in the inner man" (Eph. 3:16). And Paul also tells us, "But if indeed our outward man is consumed, yet the inward is renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16).
When God comes to indwell us by His Spirit, life and power, He comes into our spirit which we are calling the inward man. Outside of this inward man is the soul wherein function our thoughts, emotions and will. The outermost man is our physical body. Thus we will speak of the inward man as the spirit, the outer man as the soul and the outermost man as the body. We must never forget that our inward man is the human spirit where God dwells, where His Spirit mingles with our spirit. Just as we are dressed in clothes, so our inward man "wears" an outward man: the spirit "wears" the soul. And similarly, the spirit and soul "wear" the body. It is quite evident that men are generally more conscious of the outer and outermost man, and they hardly recognize or understand their spirit at all.
We must know that he who can work for God is the one whose inward man can be released. The basic difficulty of a servant of God lies in the failure of the inward man to break through the outward man. Therefore we must recognize before God that the first difficulty to our work is not in others but in ourselves. Our spirit seems to he wrapped in a covering so that it cannot easily break forth. If we have never learned how to release our inward man by breaking through the outward man, we are not able to serve. Nothing can so hinder us as this outward man. Whether our works are fruitful or not depends upon whether our outward man leas been broken by the Lord so that the inward man can pass through that brokenness and come forth. This is the basic problem. The Lord wants to break our outward man in order that the inward man may have a way out. When the inward man is released, both unbelievers and Christians will be blessed and God will be glorified.
THIS IS OUR GOD!!
Have a blessed day!!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
We Sow, We Reap
In our previous reading, we talked of how we live in a very 'fast and Furious World' making it very hard for many to remain standing. God has given each one of us a measure of faith and has placed within us a zeal for Him. But...the choice remains ours to decide which way we want to go or even what we want to do. WE ARE FREE MORAL AGENTS!! As a result of the turmoil in our lives, we find ourselves in positions of bad decisions and choices. We soon realize as we journey along that it late to turn back. God is God of many chances but He will not strive with us forever. Question to us therefore is: WHAT ARE WE SOWING???? Also, ARE WE SOWING ON FERTILE SOIL?
We know there are times when we face severe trials which have nothing to do with what we have sown. Jesus made this clear when He said: "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33). We live in a sinful world and often reap the consequences for what others have sown; and for these troubles, Jesus wants us to find our comfort in Him: "But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
But we must also understand that many of our trials, and the trials of those around us, are often the result of a multitude of small steps taken outside the will of God.
Galatians 6:7
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."
It's foolish to think we can continually walk outside God's will and not face consequences down the road. God dearly loves us and is patiently waiting for us to turn our heart to Him...but God cannot be mocked. Continuous deviation from His path can lead to a long and painful time of wandering.
The lesson we must learn and clearly teach others is: Obedience in the little things is important! There is nothing too small to justify a lack of obedience. "Whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much" (Luke 16:10). We must learn and teach, very early in life, the importance of honesty and truth, the value of submission and respect for authority. The wind of disobedience begins almost imperceptibly small with "innocent" lies and "harmless" acts of disrespect, but over time it grows until the whirlwind of consequences becomes inevitable.
If we are currently reaping a whirlwind which we know has been sown by our own hands, we must repent and seek His forgiveness, love Him and obediently trust Him with ALL our heart, and ask for the strength to endure. The whirlwind will end, but only in God's perfect timing. And if we know we have been sowing the wind of disobedience and yet see God's hand restraining the whirlwind, we also must repent and seek His forgiveness, love Him and obediently trust Him with ALL our heart...and thank Him for His mercy!
Let's honor Him by only sowing that which glorifies His name. Let's closely examine our life and the lives of those within our care, and be absolutely determined to stop sowing the wind.THIS IS OUR GOD!!
Have a blessed day!!
We know there are times when we face severe trials which have nothing to do with what we have sown. Jesus made this clear when He said: "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33). We live in a sinful world and often reap the consequences for what others have sown; and for these troubles, Jesus wants us to find our comfort in Him: "But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
But we must also understand that many of our trials, and the trials of those around us, are often the result of a multitude of small steps taken outside the will of God.
Galatians 6:7
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."
It's foolish to think we can continually walk outside God's will and not face consequences down the road. God dearly loves us and is patiently waiting for us to turn our heart to Him...but God cannot be mocked. Continuous deviation from His path can lead to a long and painful time of wandering.
The lesson we must learn and clearly teach others is: Obedience in the little things is important! There is nothing too small to justify a lack of obedience. "Whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much" (Luke 16:10). We must learn and teach, very early in life, the importance of honesty and truth, the value of submission and respect for authority. The wind of disobedience begins almost imperceptibly small with "innocent" lies and "harmless" acts of disrespect, but over time it grows until the whirlwind of consequences becomes inevitable.
If we are currently reaping a whirlwind which we know has been sown by our own hands, we must repent and seek His forgiveness, love Him and obediently trust Him with ALL our heart, and ask for the strength to endure. The whirlwind will end, but only in God's perfect timing. And if we know we have been sowing the wind of disobedience and yet see God's hand restraining the whirlwind, we also must repent and seek His forgiveness, love Him and obediently trust Him with ALL our heart...and thank Him for His mercy!
Let's honor Him by only sowing that which glorifies His name. Let's closely examine our life and the lives of those within our care, and be absolutely determined to stop sowing the wind.THIS IS OUR GOD!!
Have a blessed day!!
The Whirlwind Of Spiritual Decline
When we look at our lives today and compare our current stand in the Lord to our stand when we first gave our lives to Him, we will discover that there has been a drastic decline in our affection for Him. Yes, we may declare and proclaim with our lips (others would call this lip service) but our actions reveal otherwise.We live in a 'Fast and Furious World' and as a result, we have abandoned the first love and have compromised our position in God.
How true it is even with the natural army on earth, when the position of troops in combat is compromised, they need to make a move to leave that area or stand their ground and fight. In our case, if we compromise our position and post a decline in our love for God and His Kingdom, then the enemy has an opportunity to assault our positions with the intention of course to steal, kill and destroy.
The Spiritual decline of God's chosen people in the Old Testament includes some of the saddest passages in the Bible. God dearly loved the children of Israel, but they continually rejected Him and turned away.
God appointed King David to unite the nation and focus their worship on the One True God. David made plans for the construction of a temple and King Solomon built the temple a few years later. But toward the end of Solomon's reign, "his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God" (1 Kings 11:4). The Spiritual decline began with the leadership and then flowed quickly down to the people.
In the Old testament, we read about how Solomon died, the nation of Israel divided and the northern kingdom immediately began to pervert their worship: "The king made two golden calves {and said} 'Here are your gods'" (1 Kings 12:28). After almost 200 years of continual disobedience, the northern kingdom had hardened their hearts so that repentance was no longer even possible; "their deeds do not permit them to return to God" (Hosea 5:4). God is ready, willing, and able to forgive every sin; but continual disobedience removes the desire to draw near and seek His forgiveness. After so many years of false worship, the people would not return to God and would now experience His wrath.
Hosea 8:7
"They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind."
The people of Israel had planted evil seed into their lives for many years - now the time had come to harvest the destruction they had planted. Soon after Hosea spoke these words of God, the Assyrian army invaded and destroyed the northern kingdom.
Our father God demonstrated His love for us long before we ever loved Him; "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). This love was unconditional love since we did absolutely nothing to deserve His favor. But if we do not receive His love, through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, and allow His Spirit to begin to transform us from within, we too will one day feel His wrath.
The wind of unbelief and lack of trust, false worship and a cold heart, will one day yield an eternal whirlwind which cannot be stopped. And the wind of open sin in the lives of spiritual leaders, or the spiritual compromise in the lives of parents, can lead many generations down a path of destruction.
We need to come to a place in our lives where we will plant and nourish seeds of truth and love which will thrive in His presence for all eternity. Let's trust Him with a faith which walks into the unknown without fear because we know He is by our side. Let's determine once and for all to live an uncompromising life which brings glory and honor to God; and on the great day of harvest, let's joyfully enter His presence without any guilt or shame.
THIS IS OUR GOD!!
Have a blessed day!!
How true it is even with the natural army on earth, when the position of troops in combat is compromised, they need to make a move to leave that area or stand their ground and fight. In our case, if we compromise our position and post a decline in our love for God and His Kingdom, then the enemy has an opportunity to assault our positions with the intention of course to steal, kill and destroy.
The Spiritual decline of God's chosen people in the Old Testament includes some of the saddest passages in the Bible. God dearly loved the children of Israel, but they continually rejected Him and turned away.
God appointed King David to unite the nation and focus their worship on the One True God. David made plans for the construction of a temple and King Solomon built the temple a few years later. But toward the end of Solomon's reign, "his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God" (1 Kings 11:4). The Spiritual decline began with the leadership and then flowed quickly down to the people.
In the Old testament, we read about how Solomon died, the nation of Israel divided and the northern kingdom immediately began to pervert their worship: "The king made two golden calves {and said} 'Here are your gods'" (1 Kings 12:28). After almost 200 years of continual disobedience, the northern kingdom had hardened their hearts so that repentance was no longer even possible; "their deeds do not permit them to return to God" (Hosea 5:4). God is ready, willing, and able to forgive every sin; but continual disobedience removes the desire to draw near and seek His forgiveness. After so many years of false worship, the people would not return to God and would now experience His wrath.
Hosea 8:7
"They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind."
The people of Israel had planted evil seed into their lives for many years - now the time had come to harvest the destruction they had planted. Soon after Hosea spoke these words of God, the Assyrian army invaded and destroyed the northern kingdom.
Our father God demonstrated His love for us long before we ever loved Him; "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). This love was unconditional love since we did absolutely nothing to deserve His favor. But if we do not receive His love, through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, and allow His Spirit to begin to transform us from within, we too will one day feel His wrath.
The wind of unbelief and lack of trust, false worship and a cold heart, will one day yield an eternal whirlwind which cannot be stopped. And the wind of open sin in the lives of spiritual leaders, or the spiritual compromise in the lives of parents, can lead many generations down a path of destruction.
We need to come to a place in our lives where we will plant and nourish seeds of truth and love which will thrive in His presence for all eternity. Let's trust Him with a faith which walks into the unknown without fear because we know He is by our side. Let's determine once and for all to live an uncompromising life which brings glory and honor to God; and on the great day of harvest, let's joyfully enter His presence without any guilt or shame.
THIS IS OUR GOD!!
Have a blessed day!!