Entirely Optional extra series of post for those interested in a systematic Bible study of each book of the Bible.

I will add commentary as I go.  I am feeling pulled to meditate on Galatians and Jeremiah for the next couple of months.   If you would like to join me, I would love to hear what God reveals to you.

I am starting a new series of post exploring each book of the Bible in turn.   These are an optional extra, so do feel free to skip.    While we often focus on topical studies in our group, these posts will encourage one to see every verse in the context of the whole book or letter in which they were originally written.   The book of Romans is a very good example of a book that is commonly quoted out of context.   Reading in context AND topically is a balanced and rich approach to understanding what the verses say.  I will share my commentary at the bottom including word studies, other translations, things that jump out to etc.  I will colour code the text and put an asterisk next to anything I have made commentary on.

Galatians 1 King James Version (KJV)

“1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

² And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:

³ Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁴ Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

⁵ To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

⁶ I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

⁷ Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

⁸ But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

⁹ As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

¹⁰ For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

¹¹ But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

¹² For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³ For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:

¹⁴ And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

¹⁵ But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,

¹⁶ To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

¹⁷ Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

¹⁸ Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

¹⁹ But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

²⁰ Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.

²¹ Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;

²² And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:

²³ But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.

²⁴ And they glorified God in me.”

OK, so this is a HUGE sacred cow in the body of Christ.   I haven’t fully wrapped my brain around this at all…  but what I see in scripture runs counter popular culture in the church.  Are all human beings doomed to be stuck forever in a cycle of sinning and needing to repent and be washed?    Based on scripture I believe that even in this we can be truly more than conquerors.

1 Corinthians 10:13 English Standard Version (ESV)
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Colossians 1:10-14 King James Version (KJV)
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;  11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;  12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:  13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins…”

Note the past tense …  we have already been delivered from the power of darkness

John 14:12 King James Version (KJV)
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

Mark 14:37-38 ESV” And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? ³⁸ Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Galatians 5:24 King James Version (KJV)
24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Matthew 16:24 King James Version (KJV)
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

1 John 1 King James Version (KJV)
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we hav…e seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;  2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)  3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.  4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.  5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:  7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.  8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

We have to pay very close attention to the verb tenses on this subject.   Absolutely, all have (past tense) sinned…  Zero debate.   Every single one of us needs Jesus to be made right with God.   The question we are exploring is how radically does Jesus change the landscape for us once we are saved and baptized.  This is really what we will be exploring.   I invite you not to aim at coming to a conclusive absolute answer, but just to consider what your new capacity is in Christ and then set your course accordingly.    Jesus never once lowered the bar, He simply empowers us to overcome and be more than conquerors against everything that comes against us.

Romans 8:36-39 King James Version (KJV)
“36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

1 John 2 English Standard Version (ESV) “2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

Romans 6:3-7 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin- 7because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Romans 6 KJV 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:  9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.  10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.  11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.  14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.  15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.  16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?  17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.  18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.    19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.  20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.  21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.  22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.  23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Galatians 5:24 King James Version (KJV)
24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Genesis 3:8-  KJV” And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.  ⁹ And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?  ¹⁰ And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.  ¹¹ And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?  ¹² And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  ¹³ And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.  ¹⁴ And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:  ¹⁵ And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.   ¹⁶ Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.  ¹⁷ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;  ¹⁸ Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;  ¹⁹ In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Galatians 3:12-14 New Living Translation (NLT)
12 This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”[a]  13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”[b] 14 Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised[c] Holy Spirit through faith.

Luke 10:19 King James Version (KJV)
“19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

We have power over all the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt us

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 King James Version (KJV)
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Romans 7:23-25 King James Version (KJV)
“23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.  24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?  25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

If the flesh has been truly crucified, as Jesus has empowered us to do (it is within our capacity to do so), then this means that the law of sin in my members has lost it’s power over me.  It is possible for one one to spiritual.  Stephen is perhaps an example of a man who truly was largely dead to self and willing to lay down his life for the Word he shared with others.

1 Peter 2:23-25 King James Version (KJV)
“23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:  24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.  25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”

 

Romans 5:11-18 King James Version (KJV)
“11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)”18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Yet another walking the razor’s edge tension place in our lives.    We are commandment to love others as Christ loved us and yet not fear man or be dominated by the need for the approval of other people.

We have a whole topic devoted to one anothering so truly this is just barely catching a glimpse of the tip of the ice berg.   A word study of the phrase one anothering could easily and gainfully occupy several years of time.  I am going to hone in on one or two points only that are often overlooked or little practiced.

What does loving others as Christ loved us look like.   It must purely reflect the love that Jesus shows for us.    This is radically different than the actions and words that we often associate with the word love.

John 13:34 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
“34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

The Word LOVE represents so many different things to so many different people.   Let’s try to get some idea of what biblical love looks like and does, specifically how Jesus loves others as we are commanded to love them in the same way as He does.  So without ever losing sight of the verses we most readily associate with biblical love, let’s jump in.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a New International Reader’s Version (NIRV)
“4 Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor other people. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people’s wrongs. 6 Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. 7 It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up. 8 Love never fails…”

1st We love others by begin mindful of what tempts them or hurts their conscience.

1 Corinthians 10 NASB “28 But if anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake; 29 I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks? 31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; 33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved.”

We are not our own.  We are not only accountable to God for what our conscience says on a matter but also the conscience of others.   This puts the responsibility on each of us to be tenderhearted and compassionate to how others perceive our actions.

Romans 14:13-20 English Standard Version (ESV) “13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.   20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.”

Practical applications:   

1. Our outward appearance is one of  the easiest and most commonly thing that we judged on.   As a new believer, I watched the women, especially those on the stage and those in leadership and followed their cues.     I was thankful and of course stunned when girlfriend approached me and asked me to reconsider my attire.    She let me know that men, especially those of shorter stature, might be tempted by my choice of clothing and that perhaps something more conservative would be helpful to them.  I had been in the world 30 years and dressed accordingly.  Had this brave sister not spoken up, I would have continued to dress inappropriately.  I now try to err on the side of conservative now especially when meeting with new people.   I want to glorify God in all that I do.  What I wear, what I eat, how I speak, what kind of car I drive etc.   I have heart it too  many times to not take note.   Many will follow the example and still others will judge harshly based on these things.   I often hear that people will not listen to certain teachers of the Bible simply because of the types of suits they wear, homes they own, cars they drive etc..   

Therefore, we should take care that we are mindful of the consciences of others in  whatever parts of our lives that are lived out publicly or that we share with others.  I will admit that I went through a “legalistic/zealously religious stage” where my own conscience was truly grieved by what I saw others do.  During that time, it was far more common for me to be told that I needed to relax my standards and that I should “live and let live” instead of being encouraged by other believers to continue to honour my conscience.   I have come to a more peacefilled season now where it is far easier not to take offense and simply to recognize that each one is walking out what they know to the best of their ability.  

Here are some things that God has convicted me on.   I do not share to suggest that you ought to do likewise, only to give some idea of some things I have bumped into.   

1.  As I mentioned, the clothes we wear as a family,
2. the decorations and outward appearance of our home inside and out, basically every space in our home that others may be exposed to.  Nothing in our home decor is sacred.    If something gives  somebody the wrong vibes, I purge the item.   This one can be tricky as we can be very sentimental over certain things or feel strongly obligated to keep them as they may be gifts from those we love.    We have been so bold as to let people know the types of things that we will not allow into our homes.  Our personal convictions are to keep no graven images or any item for that matter that were made to worship other gods in our home, we try to avoid all books, videos etc where magic is used by the good guys, and aim to avoid things that are ostentatious and extravagant.   We have received gifts over the years that we either simply declined (where the relationship permitted) or quietly disposed of afterwards where relationship did not.   It pains me to do so but it would pain me more to know that the object potentially offends God and if not God, then others who come into my home. 
3. the foods I eat, especially in public (we have several friends who follow the Old Testament food regulations and abstain from pork and shell fish etc.  At the moment they are more casual friends but if we were to fellowship with them intimately, I would likely purge our home completely in an effort to honour their consciences). 
4.  I do not drink alcohol as a general rule as I have two friends who are recovering alcoholics.    
5. The music we listen to and sing as well as the types of movies and entertainments we will participate in
6. Before reading this next point, please commit to reading the second part of this post, otherwise, there may be a temptation to judge my thoughts and actions, which I have based directly on scripture.    While there is no person that I believe is beyond God’s love, I do believe that there is a time based on scripture that we are not to fellowship with someone who is actively and unrepentently living in a sinful way.   I do make it perfectly clear in those situations that the separation pains me and that I long for our fellowship to be restored but that my own conscience does not permit me to fellowship while they are openly and actively participating in what the Word clearly forbids.   I am always hopeful and prayerful that they will turn and that our fellowship will be restored.  I am not judging them but also cannot be accomplice.    This brings me to the 2nd point.

A note to make about all of this…  What you do in private should of course reflect integrity and should glorify God to the uttermost.  There are verses about this too.   

2nd Correcting one Another/ Confronting One another for Sins is an Expression of Love

I must stress that there is a loving way to confront another and a very judgemental and harsh and unloving way to do so.    Perhaps something to tackle in another post.  Today I just hope to introduce this biblical reality and encourage you to dig more deeply.

Revelation 3:19-20 King James Version (KJV)
“19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.  20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

1 Peter 4:7-9 English Standard Version (ESV)
7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

It may surprise us what it means to cover a multitude of sins.   New Testament wise it means to lovingly confront one who calls themselves a christian and exhort them to rightenousness.  And yes, there is certainly a time to overlook a trespass and forgive abundantly but all of these things work together and must be considered in light of the full counsel of God.   In my last post I highlighted the need to wash one another feet.   I do feel like the central part of discipling others is to be a sign post that always directs and points back to Jesus and the Word, and to impart and teach all that we know of the Word, in a spirit of love and gentleness.   The washing by the Word should be in other words are absolute go to.  I model this in our group meeting times.   I make it clear from day one that I will not correct or confront a sin issue I see in another person unless they invite me to do so.  However, for those who walk with me in intimate fellowship, they know that I will strongly exhort them to godliness and will confront sins that I see.    I personally have chosen to submit to all my brothers and sisters and Christ and welcome and encourage each one to correct me /bless me by taking the time and making the effort to help me see my blind spots as I have come to embrace these corrections as a helpful and necessary part of my growth.    It is my “yes Lord, wash my feet and any other part of me that has become soiled by my time in this world” as my hearts desire is to have no impurity or blemish separating me from my God.     Scripture says that teachers will be held to a higher standard, and I have come to recognize that these adjustments are necessary with the call that I have on my life.   There are times that we need to confront sin and enforce consequences when repentance does not follow instruction.   I personally believe this is essential for true fellowship, unity and growth within the christian community.  If we tip too far towards mercy and too far away from righteouness and become too tolerant, the yeast of the few quickly leavens the whole body.  If we tip too far towards justice and enforcing righteousness, especially outside of an intimate and strongly developped relationship of trust and love, we drive all away from the one who longs to wash them and adorn them as His spotless bride.

James 5:19-20 King James Version (KJV) 19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;  20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Matthew 18:15-20 English Standard Version (ESV)15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[a] in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

And yes, sadly this does mean that scripture calls us for times of separation from those who call themselves christians but refused to live in submission to God and His Word.   Many have never heard the Word and are simply living in ignorance of what it says.  I am not suggesting that we climb up on a high horse and start casting stones everywhere at all.     But these scriptures must be considered, we must prayerfully and lovingly take action to encourage all to godliness, and once all the other criteria have been met and they have truly come to a place of having had a chance to hear the truth and consider it accordingly, we do need to follow through on what scriptures tells us to do.  2 Timothy tells us how to approach those who are sinning.   

Please do take note that those in this position are opposing themselves, they are snared by the devil and are taken captive by him at his will.   They are not free, they are imprisoned and being used as a slave to darkness.  Their actions are not their own, but they are puppets responding to whatever strings the puppetmaster pulls.   They are often blind and deaf so no amount of begging, nagging, counselling, conversation, shouting, frustration, reacion on our parts will set them free from their bondage.  In fact, our ungodly responses could be deemed as casting stones at one who is imprisoned and incapable of fleeing.  Paul’s instruction to Timothy are worth noting as He is instructing him specificallly on how to help set the captives free.   It is not any more within our capacity to set them free then the Lord’s.   We can reveal to them the way of escape but at the end of the day the verses say that “they must recover themselves our of the snare” and must willfully choose to leave.  Our main prayers then shift not to “change them Lord” but “Oh merciful Father, help them to see and hear and perceive the way the prison they are in and the way out”.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 King James Version (KJV)
“24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;  26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

Do be so vigilant and aware that the strongman(men) holding them captive would like nothing more than to take you captive too.   Jesus instructs us to turn the other cheek and repay evil for good.   These are an essential part of the armour we must live in and put on daily to be effective warfare we are called to.    To respond in kind/react accordingly or as the behaviour warrants lands us right in the cell with them.   Whenever we stoop to that level, we ourselves have now been snared.  This is why it is so essential to not give place to the devil or let others have control over our actions.   

Galatians 6 NIV  “¹Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. ² Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. ³ If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. ⁴ Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, ⁵ for each one should carry their own load. ⁶ Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. ⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Psalm 69:32-33 English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)
“32 When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.  33 For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.”

God never despises his people, He is forever listening for their cry and yearning for their freedom.     

The desire is never ever to judge or write off or condemn.   It is love that looks down the road and sees where that path leads and cries out “NO, Dear sister, Dear Brother, NO, that path ends in sorrow, pain curses and death, NO!!!”   This takes us right back to Deuteronomy.    As we love others, we join our voices with that of our Heavenly Father who beseeches us each to choose “Life and life more abundantly” so that we and our children shall live.      It is to see each one fully redeemed and restored and walking in the abundant blessings, peace and joy of the truth and beauty of God’s Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 5:1-12 English Standard Version (ESV)
5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.  3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.[a]  6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.  9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church[b] whom you are to judge?”

John 3:16-20 English Standard Version (ESV)
16 “For God so loved the world,[a] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”

Deuteronomy 30:17-19 English Standard Version (ESV)
“17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,..”

 

Walking the Razor’s Edge: The Tension Place between Radical Resistance/Intorance to Sin While Never Losing Track of Mercy/Grace/Love and Compassion Towards

 

The image that springs to mind is that of trapeze artists.    The goal is to swing through the air and do seemingly death defying stunts all the while knowing that there is a safety net which gives them margin to fall and be able to get back up and try again.

The sin-o-meter is very much a human concept and simply does not exist in the Word or heart of God.    All sin carries the same ultimate penalty of death.  There are no blue collar sins vs white collar sins.   There are no little sins that carry a smaller sentence.   God does not rate sin on a scale and punish people according to the magnitude of the offense.

The challenge is that most people do have this idea somewhere kicking around in their mind.    It is exposed by thought like “I don’t SIN…  Oh sure, I tell white lies as needed and I think it is perfectly appropriate to be creative when I fill in my tax forms, after all the government already takes more than their fair share of of my income.”    “Well, everybody “gossips”, “and surely grumbling and complaining every now and again is just normal right?”  ” I have every reason to be mad at him and treat him that way.  If you only knew what he did to me you would think he was getting off easy.”  “I am a very committed christian, I go to church every week, I sing in the choir and pray….  well, I haven’t read the Bible but that is not essential right?”   “I do exaggerate every now and again” “How can you raise children without lying to them every now and again”.

What these comments are revealing is that we typically label some kinds of sins as heinous (murder, bank robbing, sexual sins, etc) but label others as relatively benign and harmless.    God’s Word reveals that all sin ends in the same place.  Scripture plainly says breaking the law by stumbling even on just one point makes us guilty of breaking it all.   In other words, it is humanly impossible to walk righteously.    

James 2:10 NIV “10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The real definition of sin is the act of not listening to fully, not hearing completely, and not doing totally what God has commanded through His Word, but also through individual promptings.

Deuteronomy 9:22-24 King James Version (KJV)
22 And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the Lord to wrath.  23 Likewise when the Lord sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.  24 Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.

Deuteronomy 28:14-16 King James Version (KJV)
14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

Psalm 106:24-26 King James Version (KJV)
24 Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word:  25 But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.  26 Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness:

Jeremiah 16:11-13 King James Version (KJV)
11 Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;  12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:  13 Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.

Proverbs 6:16-19 16There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Job 36:12 KJV
“But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.”

Romans 3:22-24 King James Version (KJV)  “22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:  23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;  24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”

When we sincerely believe that some “sins” are ok and not a big deal, we become complacent with sin and we give the enemy a foothold into our lives.   From there, he is perfectly positioned to tempt you even further.   

Ephesians 4:27-30 King James Version (KJV)
“27 Neither give place to the devil.  28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.  29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.  30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

Proverbs 14:12 New Living Translation (NLT) “12 There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”

Habakkuk 1:13 King James Version (KJV)
“13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?”

If we really take the time to think about it, we will see that the first temptation of man was to eat fruit (forbidden fruit yes) but eating a few bites of something forbidden was bad enough for the fall of man and the earth to happen.   Jesus was also tempted with food as his first temptation.  If he had turned the stones into bread and eaten them, he would have sinned against God and been disqualified as the spotless lamb, all for a few mouthfuls of food.    Esau is another one who traded his birthright all for a bowl of lentil stew.    Sin would like nothing more than to pull the wool over our eyes and keep us complacent and indifferent to its presence in our lives.     

Hebrews 12:1 New Living Translation (NLT)
“12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

Philippians 2:14-16 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
“14 Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [[a]against God] and [b]questioning and doubting [among yourselves],  15 That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukable) in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation [spiritually perverted and perverse], among whom you are seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world, 16 Holding out [to it] and offering [to all men] the Word of Life, so that in the day of Christ I may have something of which exultantly to rejoice and glory in that I did not run my race in vain or spend my labor to no purpose.”

John 13:7-15 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
“7 Jesus said to him, You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later on.  8 Peter said to Him, You shall never wash my feet! Jesus answered him, Unless I wash you, you have no part with ([a]in) Me [you have no share in companionship with Me].  9 Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, [wash] not only my feet, but my hands and my head too!  10 Jesus said to him, Anyone who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is clean all over. And you [My disciples] are clean, but not all of you.  11 For He knew who was going to betray Him; that was the reason He said, Not all of you are clean.  12 So when He had finished washing their feet and had put on His garments and had sat down again, He said to them, Do you understand what I have done to you?  13 You call Me the Teacher (Master) and the Lord, and you are right in doing so, for that is what I am.  14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher (Master), have washed your feet, you ought [it is your duty, you are under obligation, you owe it] to wash one another’s feet.  15 For I have given you this as an example, so that you should do [in your turn] what I have done to you.”

I believe the foot washing Jesus did was to show us that even after we are baptized, “has bathed needs only his feet washed” we still need to have our feet cleaned to take part of Him and His Kingdom.    This verse tells us we will have no part in Him if we do not allow him to wash us this way.   Jesus was speaking as love in the flesh, and we are commanded to continue on as He did and to wash one another’s “feet”.  Let us let him and do likewise.   My next post is all about loving one another as Christ loved us and ties into this one.

Isn’t it wonderful that our Heavenly Husband has given us His Word and is willing to wash us so tenderly and so utterly, adorning us with purity, innocence and righteousness to present us to Himself?

Ephesians 5:25-27 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her,26 So that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, 27 That He might present the church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such things [that she might be holy and faultless].

This week we talked about the danger of idolatry.   There are far too many verses about putting our trust in God to mention.  I do encourage you wholeheartedly to think about putting it on your to study list.  I  am going to springboard from two main verses for this post but do encourage you to dig deeper.

From Romans 1 :

^“18 For God’s [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress andhinder the truth and make it inoperative. ¹⁹ For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them. ²⁰ For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification], ²¹ Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor andglorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and^[c]godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].  ²³ And by them the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God were exchanged for and repreented by images, resembling mortal man and birds and beasts and reptiles.  ²⁴ Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies a mong themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin], ²⁵ Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen (so be it).  ²⁶ For this reason God gave them over and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one, ²⁷ And the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another—men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own ^[d]bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences  and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution.²⁸ And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome, ²⁹ Until they were filled (permeated and saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and covetous greed, and malice. [They were] full of envy and jealousy, murder, strife, deceit and treachery, ill will and cruel ways. [They were] secret backbiters and gossipers, ³⁰ Slanderers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance, [and] boasting; inventors of new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents.  ³¹ [They were] without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless andloveless [and] merciless.  ³² Though they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.”

Proverbs 30:5 King James Version (KJV)
“5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.”

Over and over and over again we see this truth in the Bible.   God helps/protects/provides for/heals etc those who put their trust in Him.    These are conditional promises and they hang our ability and willingness to believe what He has said and what He has promised. 

Romans 4:19-25 King James Version (KJV)
“19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:  20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.  22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.  23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;  24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;  25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”

Abraham gave glory to God by believing that God is faithful and would surely 100% deliver on His promise.   He did not fully understand how it would be fulfilled, but he 100% believed it would be.     He did not fall away, or get discouraged or derailed via unbelief.  Pause and REALLY think about these two keys that set Abraham apart and positioned Him to see the fulfillment of what God had promised Him.    Dear Ones, we have “very great and precious promises (2 Peter 1)”  that will bring the fullness of the Kingdom of God into our present here and now lives if we can live and believe as Abraham did.   Verse 23 and 24 tell us that these verses are given so that that we can know that this remains true for us today.

The central issue of idolatry is that the message it sends to others and to God is that we don’t really believe He is going to deliver on what He promised to do.     Many people have more confidence in Amazon (I used to say Sears) than they do in God.     They know that when they place their order, and pay the bill, their goods are going to show up.  And if they don’t for any reason, they can go back to the company and the Customer Service Department will resolve the issue.     This positions us to accuse the Father in our hearts, words and deeds of being a  faithless, exacting, harsh taskmaster.    This is the opposite of what He is worthy of.   If we perceive Him as He really is, then praising Him and thanking Him continuously for His absolute faithfulness and goodness follow.  Scripture tells us the “perfect love of God casts out all fear” (1 John 4:18).  Psalm 91 spells out the benefits of peace, proctection, health etc that come from abiding in Him.    

Matthew 6:31-33 King James Version (KJV)
“31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The danger of an idol (you can call it by any name) of anything else that has taken God’s place in our hearts as our source of provision for what He has promised to provide for us, is that our hope and trust is in that thing instead of God.  We may say with our mouths and pay lipservice to to God, but the real evidence lies in  our actions and words.  These reveal the truth of in whom we have put our trust.  Futility and frustration are inevitable as  these other  things cannot deliver.  Remember at the end of the day “human effort accomlishes nothing” and anything other than God will inevitably fall short and/or fail utterly.   BUT what they can do is crowd God out.   

Idols are not overly hard to spot.  They tend to be the last things we think about at night or the first things we think about in the morning.   If we are experiencing fear, doubt and unbelief, if we take the time to root out the source we will find a place in our hearts and minds where God is not sitting as Lord.    The places where we spend our time, resources, money and thoughts on… are an easy way to spot our idols.    Not all idols are positive.  Some are very negative.   It is very easy for us to put all of our hopes and happiness on people.   Even the most righteous man/woman can be an idol in our hearts if we seek their counsel, their wisdom, their influence above God’s.   Sometimes the people who we struggle with the most are really idols in disguise.    If only he/she would…, then I would be fine.    If our happiness is hanging on the actions, words or behaviors of another, we have seated them in a place of power and lordship over our lives.   They have the ability to manipulate and control via their approval or displeasure. If God is truly Lord in all areas of our life, we are truly free to accept others, to not be harmed by their sin issues and shortfalls, and to be steadfast in our faith.    Remember, we can only have one master.

Matthew 6:24 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be [a]against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon ([b]deceitful riches, money, possessions, or [c]whatever is trusted in).

Proverbs 29:25 English Standard Version (ESV)
“25 The fear of man lays a snare,  but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”

Galatians 1:10 English Standard Version (ESV)
“10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant[a] of Christ.”

The driving force behind all idolatry is the desire to bypass investing the time necessary into developping a thriving and abiding relationship with our God and submitting to Him as Lord of our whole life.   Wanting His blessings and benefits without satisfying our part of the equation.   The proverbial “magic pill” for all that ails you, the carrot hanging just our of our reach that never satisfies when we finally chomp down on it.    It positions us to view other people as obstacles in our path or opportunities/resources to leverage for our benefit.   Basically, we don’t get what we feel that we need/want and then act badly and then sadly, often justify our poor behaviour and attitude to insulate ourselves from all responsibility for the state we are in.    But if you look back to the beginning of the cycle, it all starts when we try to bypass the lawful means of our needs being met.   Life abundantly is THE destination for those who are willing to choose life and life abundantly through hearkening to and obeying the Word of the Lord.   EVERY other path ends in hell, death and destruction.  

To sum up plainly:

The fruit and blessings of the Kingdom are only assured in the areas where we have made Him LORD.   We therefore should not be shocked or dismayed at the absence of His benefits when we have excluded Him from so many parts of our lives.    We can easily be deceived by His mercy and goodness which falls on all of his creation..    BUT He has also promised that these will not last forever, while he is slow to wrath and patient in the hopes that all will repent and be saved, He is also perfectly just and has promised that each one WILL reap according to what He sows and is a slave to whoever they obey.   

James 4:1-3 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
4 What leads to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fightings) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members?  2 You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled; [so] you become murderers. [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.] You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. You do not have, because you do not ask.  3 [Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasures.

2 Peter 3:7-15 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
“7 But God has commanded the present heavens and earth to remain until the day of judgment. Then they will be set on fire, and ungodly people will be destroyed. 8 Dear friends, don’t forget that for the Lord one day is the same as a thousand years, and a thousand years is the same as one day. 9 The Lord isn’t slow about keeping his promises, as some people think he is. In fact, God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost. 10 The day of the Lord’s return will surprise us like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a loud noise, and the heat will melt the whole universe.[a] Then the earth and everything on it will be seen for what they are.[b]11 Everything will be destroyed. So you should serve and honor God by the way you live. 12 You should look forward to the day when God judges everyone, and you should try to make it come soon.[c] On that day the heavens will be destroyed by fire, and everything else will melt in the heat. 13 But God has promised us a new heaven and a new earth, where justice will rule. We are really looking forward to that!”

Going back to the Romans verse at the very top….  Idolatry/putting our faith/hope/trust in something other than God IS the guaranteed place anyone who refuses to submit to God will land.   It is either God in the throne room of our lives or something else.    There is simply no inbetween options and no gray areas possible.   We were made to be the home of the Holy Spirit and to live with Him filling us every day.    When we evict Him, we leave a vacancy up and squatters are quick to jump in and take up residence.     Jesus is the answer, the Word is the means by which He has chosen to reveal Himself to us.      The Galatians verse I started with during our group  is the one I will end with here.    I have come to believe that the things listed in this verse are simply evidence that we have some squatters in our hearts.  They are evidence that a worldly/fleshly substitute has snuck in and stolen our hearts and trust away from our God.   How wonderful to know that as we read the Word, hearken to our God and submit to Him that we will see ” love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control;”  take up full time residence and that these other “squatters” will be fully driven out.  Isn’t it amazing and encouraging to know  that we can be restored to full measure, these “symptoms” of deficiency will surely fall away too.      

Galatians 5:19-24 English Standard Version (ESV)
“19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,[a] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do[b] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

And just to clarify, I am not saying that people won’t ever be part of God’s solution, because they absolutely do and will play a role, and often a significant role.   But who you seek FIRST, where your hope is set, really makes a kingdom of difference.  Blessings.

 

Extra’s

For those interested in the 7 redemptive names I mentioned that God gave us through the wilderness journey and for those interested in the verses that talk about our need to put our trust in Him, see below.

from this blog:

https://onlyamustardseed.blogspot.com/2011/12/redemptive-names-of-god.html

The Seven Redemptive Names of God
In his redemptive relation to man, Jehovah has seven compound names which reveal Him as meeting every need of man from his lost state to the end. These compound names are:

Jehovah-Jireh
“the Lord will provide” (Genesis 22:13,14).
i.e., will provide a sacrifice.

Jehovah-Rapha
“the Lord that healeth” (Exodus 15:26).
That this refers to physical healing the context shows, but the deeper healing of soul malady is implied.

Jehovah-Nissi
“the Lord our banner” (Exodus 17:8-15).
The name is interpreted by the context. The enemy was Amalek, a type of the flesh, and the conflict that day stands for the conflict of (Galatians 5:17) the war of the Spirit against the flesh. Victory was wholly due to divine help.

Jehovah-Shalom
“the Lord our peace,” or “the Lord send peace” (Judges 6:24).
Almost the whole ministry of Jehovah finds expression and illustration in that chapter. Jehovah hates and judges sin (Genesis 2:1-5). Jehovah loves and saves sinners (Genesis 2:7-18) but only through sacrifice (Genesis 2:19-21). See also: Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:14; Colossians 1:20.

Jehovah-Ra-ah
“the Lord my shepherd” (Psalm 23.).
In Psalm 22, Jehovah makes peace by the blood of the cross; in Psalm 23, Jehovah is shepherding His own who are in the world.

Jehovah-Tsidkenu
“the Lord our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6).
This name of Jehovah occurs in a prophecy concerning the future restoration and conversion of Israel. Then Israel will hail him as Jehovah-Tsidkenu—”the Lord our righteousness.”

Jehovah-Shammah
“the Lord is present” (Ezekiel 48:35).
This name signifies Jehovah’s abiding presence with His people (Exodus 33:14,15; 1 Chronicles 16:27,33; Psalm 16:11, 97:5; Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5).
Taken from the 1917 Scofield Reference Bible Notes

 

A bunch more verses that stress that there is a significant our part if we are to expect God’s help and protection in our lives.

Psalm 5:11 King James Version (KJV) “11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.”

Psalm 18:30 King James Version (KJV)
30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

Psalm 20:6-8 King James Version (KJV)
6 Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. 7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. 8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.

Psalm 34:8 King James Version (KJV)
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.  8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.

Psalm 112:6-8 King James Version (KJV)
6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.  7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.  8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.

Psalm 115:2-11 English Standard Version (ESV)
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.

4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.

9 O Israel,[a] trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

Psalm 118:7-11 King James Version (KJV)
7 The Lord taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.  8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.  9 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.  10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them.11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

Psalm 52:1-8 King James Version (KJV)
52 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. 2 The tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.  3 Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.  4 Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.  5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.  6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:  7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.  8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

Psalm 146:2-6 King James Version (KJV)
2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.  3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.  His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.  5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:  6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:”

 

Deuteronomy ESV  4:15-22  “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, ¹⁶ beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, ¹⁷ the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, ¹⁸ the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. ¹⁹ And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. ²⁰ But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day.²¹ Furthermore, the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan, and that I should not enter the good land that the Lordyour God is giving you for an inheritance. ²² 

Deuteronomy 32:20-24 English Standard Version (ESV)
20 And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them;
I will see what their end will be,
for they are a perverse generation,
children in whom is no faithfulness.
21 They have made me jealous with what is no god;
they have provoked me to anger with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with those who are no people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22 For a fire is kindled by my anger,
and it burns to the depths of Sheol,
devours the earth and its increase,
and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

23 “‘And I will heap disasters upon them;
I will spend my arrows on them;
24 they shall be wasted with hunger,
and devoured by plague
and poisonous pestilence;
I will send the teeth of beasts against them,
with the venom of things that crawl in the dust.

1 Samuel 15:22-24 English Standard Version (ESV) 22 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.” 24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

1 Kings 15:11-13 English Standard Version (ESV)
11 And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done. 12 He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13 He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron.

2 Kings 17 ”

7 And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. 9 And the people of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the Lord carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger, 12 and they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this.” 13 Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”

14 But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God. 15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them. 16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. 17 And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings[a] and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.

2 Kings 23:24 English Standard Version (ESV)
24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord.

Psalm 106:30-40 English Standard Version (ESV)
30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was stayed.
31 And that was counted to him as righteousness
from generation to generation forever.

32 They angered him at the waters of Meribah,
and it went ill with Moses on their account,
33 for they made his spirit bitter,[a]
and he spoke rashly with his lips.

34 They did not destroy the peoples,
as the Lord commanded them,
35 but they mixed with the nations
and learned to do as they did.
36 They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons;
38 they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts,
and played the whore in their deeds.

40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
and he abhorred his heritage;

Isaiah 2 ” 6For you have rejected your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are full of things from the east
and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines,
and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is filled with idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made.
9 So man is humbled,
and each one is brought low—
do not forgive them!
10 Enter into the rock
and hide in the dust
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty.
11 The haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

12 For the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;”

Isaiah 57 “Whom did you dread and fear,
    so that you lied,
and did not remember me,
    did not lay it to heart?
Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,
    and you do not fear me?
¹² I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
    but they will not profit you.
¹³ When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
    The wind will carry them all off,
    a breath will take them away.
But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land
    and shall inherit my holy mountain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps as we are wrapping up this session (our last dates being the 6th and 8th of August), if you can take some time to write down your testimonies of what God is doing in your life.  I have been so blessed to hear your reports. I take your confidentiality seriously so will not share without specific permission.      There is tremendous power in our testimonies to encourage others.   I have heard of at least 4 healings since the Lord invited me to join with the community at Byron United.      You can share here by adding a comment (make sure you are logged out if you want to do so anonymously) or there is a board outside the room we meet in for prayers, Angie mentioned you can post there too if you like.

Just a reminder this is our second last week before we break for the summer.  Our last official meetings for this session will be August the 6th and 8th.     We will have a fully  optional meeting on August the 13th to discuss some of the more “out there” things that have come up.

We may have a new gentleman joining us, a retired orthopedic surgeon with many encouraging stories of the Lord’s faithfulness and provision in his life.   He is contending with asthma which sometimes brings on coughing fits.   Please join me in praying for his full restoration.    I recognize some have hearing aids etc so do seat yourselves accordingly.   Having chatted with him, he has let me know he would appreciate if we just carry on with the meetings if one of these fits happens while he is there.        If he needs assistance, he will certainly let us know.

This week on Tuesday morning we will starting at verse Psalm 119:114 on page 10 and on Thursday at verse 2 Peter 1:19-21 on page 10

As always, I am so blessed to be sharing this part of my own walk with the Lord surrounded by such a compassionate, loving  and dynamic group of brothers and sisters in Christ.   Please do let me know, as always, if there is something I am sharing or doing that does not line up with the Word and/or concerns.      Our desire is to accomodate everyone to the best of our ability.

 

In response to a question from this week.

From a mother, a daughter, a friend and someone who prays fairly often for those who are suffering from sickness and disease, I can so understand the heart cry to understand and long to know how to pray effectively.  That groaning and heart pain we feel when we see our loved ones suffering is a reflection of the heartcry, compassion  and tender/fierce/protective love of our Heavenly Father.  Even more than we want these things, our Abba Father longs for them even more.  He sent Jesus to live and then to die in the most horrendous way because His love for us and desire to see us restored, and fully healed was so great, that He willingly paid this price to redeem us.

There are kind of 2 parts to this.   How do I get an answer to a specific and pressing need that is on my heart today?   For example when a loved one is terminally sick or so miserable mentally that time is of the essence.  And 2nd, how do I see all my prayers answered.    There are many keys to this answer but no formulas, no quick and easy skip the queue methods.

I should mention that I have a whole topic dedicated to this subject.    So there are many verses to explore that explain the bigger picture of prayer.  It will be easy to fill 6 to 10 weeks on this topic alone.   So there is so so much more then this.

Short answer to the first is tied to the second.   Prioritize the Kingdom and hearing from the Lord.  These are the keys that will unlock everything you need.   Commit yourself to a season of being immersed intensively and transformed by the Word and let God do what He longs to do in your life.   I have heard so so many praise reports linked to someone carving out a chunk of time from their normal life to pray, fast, meditate, read the Word etc    The disciples became what they did because for 3 years, they left everything of their lives behind to focus  on and follow Jesus as their Rabbi.   We will see a tremendous increase in the effectiveness of our prayers when we commit to this and do this.  God has promised to answer the prayers of a person who is walking in this way.    There is no formula answer.    There is simply a call to consider the cost and invitation to all who are willing to do so to follow Him and do as He did.

The answer to the 2nd is that this is truly part of the highest calling on a Christ-follower.    What we desire is of course instant results and shifts.    The more we are transformed into Christ’s image and the more faithfully we live and do as He did, the more effective/fruitful  our prayer life becomes in general.   This means every bit of time you invest into the keys that follow have value are investments and will bring increase to fruit of your prayers.  We are ultimately each in charge of choosing how quickly we grow and mature in Christ as this is very much tied to how much time we set aside daily to prioritize kingdom understanding and growth in us.   The more your immerse yourself, the faster the fruit will come.    Remember the words from this week from Timothy.   “Throw yourself completely into the task so others will see your progress”.    Scripture tells us there is one thing worth striving for, and that is entering into His rest.   The work scripture assigns to us is to believe in the One sent.   These are the core things of what we are called/commanded to do anyways.

Without Christ, it is of course impossible.  But all things are possible with Him.   So my own hearts cry is “Heavenly Father, even my part feels too hard and too impossible in these things.  Please change my heart and my desire to want these things above all else so that I will truly let you transform me and equip me for the destiny and work you have created me for.  In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

All of creation is groaning for the sons of God to be made manifest.    This is because the children of God were intended from the begining to take dominion and care for the earth in agreement with God’s will and ways.   As long as born again believers have not taken up these birth “rigths” and “responsibities” all of creation will continue to groan under the weight of sin and death.  Of course these things will not fully disappear until our Lord’s return but all of creation is blessed when even one comes into their sonship.

Romans 8:18-22 English Standard Version (ESV) “18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”

 

A summary list in response to the question from Tuesday.

1.  Seek God and His Kingdom and His righteousness as your top and first priority all the time.   Knowing out identity  and authority is a byproduct of doing this.

Matthew 6:31-33 King James Version (KJV) “31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Key Point:   Health and healing are fruit are a product of the Kingdom of God.  Yes, as Kingdom children we can call them into the fallen world.  But we can do this most effectively when we have taken up our residence in the Kingdom.

I have a relative who is a Canadian citizen but works in the states.   Her main home is here, her heart is here, her health care is here, but she spends a lot of time there.    Knowing who we are and the kingdom that we are citizens of and the benefits that come with it are absolutely KEY.   These things teach us who we are, what our “benefits” are and how to act as ambassadors of the kingdom and ministers of reconciliation.   This involves us actively taking dominion and being part of God’s enforcement team.  This requires us learning how to effectively use the  authority He has delegated to us.  We can never rest or be set free from the anxiousness and striving that will constantly try to rule the roost without getting a revelation of just HOW GOOD and HOW faithful our Heavenly Father is all time.   If we seek His face and knowing Him as a top priority, everything else begins to flow readily.

2.  Abiding in the Lord is a big factor.

   Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing and was in constant communion with Him     I personally believe that very often our effectiveness in prayer will reflect our intimacy and the measure of time we spent abiding with the Lord.     I encourage you to do a word study of abiding, remaining in, etc and you will find so so many verses that talk about how many promises, including prayers being answered are tied into abiding.

John 15:7 KJV ““If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

3. Reading the Word and Meditating on it Day and Night

John 8:32 KJV“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

This is one of those present progressive tense ones.  And you shall  increasingly know the truth (ongoing) and the truth shall (ongoing) make you more and more free.   Praying scripture is highly effective especially when it is backed by Word rooted faith and in the absence of unbelief.   We talked about the verse that said the Word has been purified and about the high praises of God being like a sword.    We saw that Jesus used the Word to resist the devil.   We also saw that there are times we need to bind the strong man in order to plunder his goods (those he is holding captive via sin).  We talked about how Jesus was able to use scripture with surgical precision.   

Psalm 149:6-7 King James Version (KJV) “6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; 7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;”

Psalm 12:6 King James Version (KJV) “6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”

4. Persistent and Unrelenting prayer

Luke 18:1-8 King James Version (KJV) “18 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;  2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:  3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.  4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;  5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.   6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.  7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?  8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

Matthew 7:7 ” New Living Translation “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you”

If you remember, James 5 talked about Elijah being an example of the righteous man praying fervently and effectively. (See 1st Kings 17-18).   He modelled these three elements powerfully.  Faith flows out of the first 3 things mentioned.   Faith is the inevitable product if we have these 3 things in our lives.

5. Casting off Unbelief, Sin and Wordliness = We must truly submit / make ourselves subject to the Lord God.

The disciples themselves did not always see their prayers answered.   These are three thing mentioned in scripture that were part of the lives of those ministering that blocked healing, somehow rendered their prayers ineffectual. (See Matthew 17:21 in context, and Galatians 5:24).   Note that the disciples themselves were rebuked (not comforted) for failing to live in a way to cast these things off.    

Luke 9:40-42 New Living Translation (NLT) “40 I begged your disciples to cast out the spirit, but they couldn’t do it.” 41 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you and put up with you?” Then he said to the man, “Bring your son here.” 42 As the boy came forward, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a violent convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil[a] spirit and healed the boy. Then he gave him back to his father.”

Romans 6:15-17 New Living Translation (NLT) “15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.”

Romans 8:4-10 The Passion Translation (TPT)”4 So now every righteous requirement of the law can be fulfilled through the Anointed One living his life in us. And we are free to live, not according to our flesh, but by the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit!5 Those who are motivated by the flesh only pursue what benefits themselves. But those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit are motivated to pursue spiritual realities. 6 For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set controlled by the Spirit finds life and peace.  7 In fact, the mind-set focused on the flesh fights God’s plan and refuses to submit to his direction, because it cannot! 8 For no matter how hard they try, God finds no pleasure with those who are controlled by the flesh. 9 But when the Spirit of Christ empowers your life, you are not dominated by the flesh but by the Spirit. And if you are not joined to the Spirit of the Anointed One, you are not of him.10 Now Christ lives his life in you! And even though your body may be dead because of the effects of sin, his life-giving Spirit imparts life to you because you are fully accepted by God.”

Galatians 6:1-3 English Standard Version (ESV) “6 Brothers,[a] if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

The flesh cannot produce or even understand the works of God.  Recalling that “Human effort accomplishes nothing” and that “only the spirit can understand the Spirit” that we simply need to die to self, to the flesh, to the lusts of this world and a wordly perspective to see and act according to the Kingdom realities.  The disciples could not heal the boy with seizures due to their unbelief and wordliness.   In one translation Jesus rebuked them saying “your lives are all wrong”.    To see all of our prayers answered we have to meet all of the conditions listed…  which we are working through some of throughout our times together.    The summary of these things though is to live holy, righteously and blamelessly before the Father, in a lifestyle of obedience and total submission to His Word and His Will, to have invested the time in developping an ear to hear the Father’s diretions plainly and consistently, to have utterly (past tense) crucified the flesh and its appetites,  being willing to lay down any part of our life for His,  and living as a bond servant (motivated by thanksgiving and unfeigned love) to the Most High.  Few, if any,  are willing to pay this cost.   In other words, it costs absolutely everything to become who He has created us to be.   BUT He is worthy, He is the pearl worth selling all for.

 

This question is absolutely one of the best invitations I know of that an unbeliever can extend to us as believer to share the gospel with them.   It gives us the opportunity to share the key truths and foundational teachings of the Bible and to potentially see many lies exposed and heart wounds healed in the person who has asked.

Short answer:  I believe that  sin and Satan take advantage of God’s good laws to manipulate and control people, in some cases virtually like puppets.     Again, let’s explore this all the while keeping in mind the two parts to the answer.   The biblical evidence for this and then how to express this to a non-believer.

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First point:   God has perfect integrity and is incapable of breaking His own commandments or laws upon which He has established all of Creation.

In our main scripture pack , we have now read a LOT of verses that talk about God’s integrity and how He never revokes or goes against anything He has decreed in His Word.

Psalm 138:2 King James Bible “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”

As the perfectly just Judge, He enforces and upholds every word.  We might not be able to perceive this in every case

Proverbs 30:5-6 English Standard Version (ESV) “5 Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.  6 Do not add to his words,  lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.”

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2nd Point:   God delegated the bringing the world into subjection and dominion of the Earth to Adam and Eve and their offspring…  In other words, to mankind.

Genesis 1 ESV “And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  27 So God created man in his own image,  in the image of God he created him;  male and female he created them.  28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Strong’s subdue = “כָּבַשׁ kâbash, kaw-bash’; a primitive root; to tread down; hence, negatively, to disregard; positively, to conquer, subjugate, violate:—bring into bondage, force, keep under, subdue, bring into subjection.”  from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H3533&t=KJV

dominion = “רָדָה râdâh, raw-daw’; a primitive root; to tread down, i.e. subjugate; specifically, to crumble off:—(come to, make to) have dominion, prevail against, reign, (bear, make to) rule,(-r, over), take.”

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3rd Point:  Satan covetted the power that God had and saw an opportunity to obtain it when God did this.   Enter sin into the picture.    We see that sin and Satan team of thorns popping up everywhere from this point forward.

Isaiah 14 KJV” ¹² How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!  ¹³ For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:  ¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.  ¹⁵ Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.  ¹⁶ They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;¹⁷ That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?”

In this verse we see a lot of information about Satan.  We see that Lucifer/Satan fell from heaven.  That he longed to be like God and that His end will be the pit.   But we also see that he made the earth to tremble and shook the kingdoms and make the world a wilderness, destroyed cities AND kept prisoners.   AND YET at the end of the day, there will be a big shock to see how insignificant and how something of such low stature and power could have done these things.    We need to keep in mind always that his present status is publicly shamed and disarmed and beaten foe.   His tactics are plainly exposed in the Word and the means to defeat Him available to all who will take the time to study and learn how to ealk in them.   Jesus has already triumphed over him.  He has been tried and sentenced and his time remaining on earth is finite but his sentence has not yet been carried out in full.   When it is he will be blotted out from God’s creation altogether. 

Colossians 2:13-15 New American Standard Bible (NASB) “13 When you were dead [a]in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had [b]disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through [c]Him.16 ”

James 4:7 New American Standard Bible (NASB) “7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Key point:   The first and most essential part of driving back the devil and going on the offensive against him, is submitting to God.   Back a few weeks when I was talking about the “courts of heaven” I emphasized my beliefs that we need to come before the Righteous Judge having taken the care to purify our hearts and be washed of any known sin issues out of reverence.   

The word submit here from the Strong’s means “ὑποτάσσω hypotássō, hoop-ot-as’-so; from G5259 and G5021; to subordinate; reflexively, to obey:—be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto, (be, make) subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self unto.”   The word resist = “ἀνθίστημι anthístēmi, anth-is’-tay-mee; from G473 and G2476; to stand against, i.e. oppose:—resist, withstand.”  flee = “φεύγω pheúgō, fyoo’-go; apparently a primary verb; to run away (literally or figuratively); by implication, to shun; by analogy, to vanish:—escape, flee (away).”   Our positioning when come in opposition against the devil is to be one of being subject to, walking in obedience to the Lord.    It is a pre-req to resisting the devil and having Him flee from us.   

Ezekiel 28:12-19 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE) “12 Son of man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre, and say to him: Thus says the Lord God:  [a] You were a seal of perfection, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty. 13 In Eden, the garden of God, you lived;
precious stones of every kind were your covering: Carnelian, topaz, and beryl, chrysolite, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, garnet, and emerald. Their mounts and settings were wrought in gold, fashioned for you the day you were created. 14 With a cherub I placed you; I put you on the holy mountain of God,[b]  where you walked among fiery stones.
15 Blameless were you in your ways from the day you were created, Until evil was found in you. 16 Your commerce was full of lawlessness, and you sinned. Therefore I banished you from the mountain of God;  the cherub drove you out from among the fiery stones. 17 Your heart had grown haughty because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. I cast you to the ground, I made you a spectacle in the sight of kings.  18 Because of the enormity of your guilt,  and the perversity of your trade, you defiled your sanctuary.  I brought fire out of you;  it devoured you;  I made you ashes on the ground in the eyes of all who see you.  19 All the nations who knew you are appalled on account of you;  You have become a horror,  never to be again.”

Satan was originally created to be good and lived in Eden.   He was created good but somehow he grew into something else..  One theory (did I stress that this is a theory?)is that God had intentionally put this good Lucifer (anointed cherub) in the garden to serve and minister to Adam and Eve but when he saw what God had given him, this jealousy and sin awoke in him.   Sin entered into his own heart (which was susceptible due to the vastness of his wisdom and vanity in his great beauty, in a way he had turned to self worship).  If you have ever wondered why God put an evil angel in the garden with Adam and Eve, this would answer that question.   This would mean what we are seeing is the tipping point for Satan too.   This may well have been the moment described in Ezekiel where sin was discovered in Satan and he was cast down.   So what Genesis is describing may well be the fall of not only Adam and Eve but of Satan too.     We witness Adam and Eve being expelled in Genesis, but we hear in the verses above that Satan was cast down after sin was found in him.

Note that Satan chose the most subtle creature to tempt Adam and Eve through.    Scripture plainly tells us that we are slaves to whoever we obey.   Via manipulation and temptation, we see the moment that Adam and Eve became subject to Satan who is really subject to sin.   We see this play out again in the next generation.

Genesis 4:7 HCSB  “In the course of time Cain presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also presented an offering—some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he looked despondent. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent?[c] 7 If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

 

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4th point Sin and Satan are god of this world in this present age and everyone who is in disobedience to God and His Word are slaves to these things

Scripture spells it out plainly in the verses below.    Sin/Satan have dominion over the world in this present age.  The word sin  makes for an excellent Word study.  Some translations go so far as to give sin a  capital  letter implying that sin is a being and not just a thing. 

2 Corinthians 4:4 HCSB “In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  The NLT version actually names the god of this world to be Satan

NLT “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

Romans 6:15-19 New International Version (NIV) “15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.”

Colossians 1:9-14 New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)  “9 Therefore, from the day we heard this, we do not cease praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding 10 to live in a manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God, 11 strengthened with every power, in accord with his glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy 12 [a]giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. 13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

The default setting for everyone born into this world is to be born under the power/dominion of darkness.   Only in believing and receiving Jesus can we be delivered and transferred into His Kingdom.

Key points:   Satan has no power of his own.   He has been disarmed.  The only power he has left is via manipulation and control.    He is the master string puller, the puppet master of all people who walk in disobedience against God.    He succeeds not in getting people to do exactly what he wants, but in getting people to not hearken to or obey God.  He uses the power and dominion and authority that God has given to people against us.  As believers, we can cut off all the strings by hearkening to, (being in the Word and intimate relationship with God)) and meditating on His Word, and by walking in obedience to His statutes and leadings.   Jesus has ransomed us and restored to us all the authority we need  to overcome. He has delivered us from the dominion (being dominated by) the kingdom of darkness and freed us to serve in the Kingdom of the Son.

Luke 10:18-20 New American Standard Bible (NASB) “18 And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 New American Standard Bible (NASB) “19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

Romans 6:13 King James Version (KJV) “13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

Key Point:  Do not yield your body parts (this verse “ties” in powerfully with the image of Satan as a puppet master), do not let him pull your strings.   Submit and yield only to God.

How do I leverage this knowledge?   Most people can relate to the cartoons they saw as children where the character had an angel sitting on one shoulder telling them to do what was right and a little devil on the other prompting them to do what was wrong.   It is an iconic image in the minds of most.   And if they are honest in the least, they will be able to admit that this is part of their experience.    “Have you ever had one of those moments where you could hear the two sides in your own head?  I have, far too often.   I knew what to do that was the right thing but chose to do the wrong thing anyways because it felt so satisfying at the time to do it.”   Maybe it happens to them when they are arguing with a loved one or a child and they find words that they don’t believe or agree with pouring out of their mouths.   Perhaps, they have an addiction that no matter how hard they try, the addiction seems to win.   Perhaps, they are living a secret life and are doing things that they know to be wrong but presenting a facade of moralityand uprightness.   The reality is everyone has skeletons in their closet and or big regrets from times when they listened to the wrong voice.     They don’t have to admit anything, just bringing up the question will bring to their remembrance that this is true in them.

“I spent my whole life trying to live up to an image of who I should be in my head, all the while failing and doing the very things I was bent on avoiding… over and over and over again.    When I read the Bible, I found the answers to almost all of the questions my heart had been asking for ages but no one seemed able to answer…..    I finally make sense, the world finally makes sense, it really isn’t random, and there really are answers.   I found my answers here, and would be happy to share with you what I have found if you are interested.”

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5th point.   Adapt the message to the capacity of our audience and recognize the spiritual nature of the conversation.  Our testimonies are powerful in these situations.

So in talking with a citizen of the present age who is presently subject to sin and Satan as the rulers of their hearts and lives, who is potentially blind and deaf to spiritual truths, we need wisdom and knowledge to understand how to speak truth into their lives in a way that they can actually hear it.     You have all heard me pray this so so many times, I very often pray this under my breath or out loud whenever possible before engaging in these types of conversations.  “Would you mind if i prayed a little prayer? God if you are out there, would you help us both to see what we need to see and hear what we need to hear and to find the answers that we are looking for to this question?  In Jesus name”  Most won’t object to this.

2 Timothy 2:25-26 King James Version (KJV) “25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

In the Amplified:

2 Timothy 2:24-26 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)”24 And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone and mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]; he must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong.  25 He must correct his opponents with courtesy and gentleness, in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and come to know the Truth [that they will perceive and recognize and become accurately acquainted with and acknowledge it]…”

This verse is wonderful as it gives us amazing advice of how not to trigger the defensive, shut down, get offended and run away response that is so easy to trigger.   I have watched in awe and wonder as God has been developping these things in me.   I still fall short and communicate poorly at times, BUT I have grown by leaps and bounds from where I started.

Revelation 12:11 New American Standard Bible (NASB) “11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even [a]when faced with death.”

Key Points:  Potentially, this would actually be an excellent time to take someone’s situation before the “courts of heaven” and ask for a “stay” on the spiritual blindness and deafness part of the judgments the person you want to share with is possibly under.   Remember that the god of this world has blinded them in  many cases lawfully.   It can be extremely beneficial to have bound him and have him out of the picture when sharing these things.  The blood of the lamb is what allows us to be effective intercessors and opposition to the devil as we saw in the verse further up in this post.   Our testimony is also part of the equation.   Do note that I intentionally refer to my own testimony often.

So going back to the playdough analogy…   We know that some part of them recognizes that God created them to be good and Holy, that this part of them longs for redemption.   We also know that the truth is written on their hearts and that all of creation is witnessing to them that God is for real.  They are part of God’s creation, part of them is witnessing to them that God is real.  So we speak earnestly to that part and water and encourage that part, we strengthen them and use the power of our words to speak over them the truth of who they really are.   Here are the things I am mindful of but not able to practise consistently yet.

1. I try to prepare my heart  to SOW only  and to be on guard against the need to convince.   I share scripture with the mindset of a sower sowing perfect and incorruptible seed.    Nowadays we have made planting seeds an science which requires precision, equipment and human knowledge.  Sowing is much simpler, you grab a handful of seeds and (still with skill) throw it in a way that distributes it somewhat evenly.   It falls where it falls and the sower knows that some of the seed will take (wherever it falls in the right place and right kind of soil) and some, even a large measure of the seed will not thrive.   But our seed supply is limitless so we can joyfully sow knowing that other opportunities will come, other sowers will come and that the seed will never fail.    In Timothy we see this expressed in the words that we must not be quarrelsome or contentious.   I do not sow seed with a need to convince others.  Actually the less I say the better.  The moment I hit the slightest indication of offense or hardness, I change topics and move on.  The moment I try to force the seed into another person, they tend to put up higher walls and greater defenses as they actually feel assaulted by such an approach.   Sometime immediately almost always eventually, they will put up such high walls that I will have lost all opportunity to share the Word with them.
2. I view debates and arguments as harmful and not beneficial.  The moment I catch myself in one of these I try to apologize….   ” I am so sorry,  I appreciate and value our “friendship” too much to debate.   We are all still learning and I have so much more to learn about these things.   Thank God the truth is out there and I believe that we both really want the same things…”  this is an opportunity to speak blessings over them.   “I appreciate/admire your ________________ and know that you long for ________________ (justice, kindness, peace, the best for the world, the best for your children, the best for your husband, healing) in the world.  Thanks for stirring up my own heart.   Whatever the answer is, your right, it is something worth pursuing.”
3. If the door remains open to discussion, then I keep the words in Timothy at the forefront of my mind, with gentleness, and meekness and respect trying to engage them with things like …. “Ooooohhhh, excellent point..  what about this________?  Have you considered this_________________?  Do you know, I know it seems counter-intuitive but this is how I have seen that play out when I applied scripture to that situation?”.  “I don’t know, I would have to think on that, it is a really really great question.  What do you think about it?”
4. Always exit the topic graciously and with kindness and love.

My life speaks louder than any words I will ever say.   If I live in hypocrisy saying one thing but living otherwise, every word I speak loses power.   So aiming to maintain a lifestyle of availability and flexibility (leaving enough margin so that when someone needs help I can say YES), and of integrity (honesty and consistently doing what is good and right) are the core things that give my words credibility.  I chaffs people when we aim to live set apart and Holy lives because some part of them knows that this is right and good and our choice to live in this way is convicting.    But  living a lifestyle of rightouesness is the very thing that actually gives weight to our words and testimonies.

Proverbs 22:1 ESV “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,  and favor is better than silver or gold”

1 Timothy 3:7 ESV “7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.”

Blessings on you all.   Isn’t God so good?   I love waking up in the morning knowing that He is transforming me from strength to strength (Psalm 84:7)an from glory to glory.

 

2 Corinthians 3:18 New American Standard Bible  “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

On Tuesday we are on page 7 Psalm 19:9-11  and on Thursday p.8 Ephesians 5:26-27.

Our last meetings for this Session will be ending on August 6th and 8th.

I am looking forward to hearing this week what the Lord has been revealing to everyone.  Do let me know if you want a hard copy of any of the website posts.   This is always an option, I just need to get the requests in to the church or make copies here for you depending on the number requested.

Some thoughts on having one extra meeting for some especially “hot topics”

I was thinking about our last 20 minute topics.  This week I was thinking we would do the “spirit, soul and body” one if nothing else comes up as it is something  that I think radically changed my understanding and helped scripture make more sense.    I also realized that there are some topics that are just so “out there” that these are perhaps best saved for one on one, or in smaller groups where there is sincere interest in such things.   I think all scripture is essential and that there is a time and  a place to explore all of it.  I am going to try to stick to topics that have ready application for most for now and create occasional opportunities for people to have a forum to discuss the things that I would call “grey areas” and extremely “hot topics”.

I am happy to host a “t-bone” session (come prepared to separate between the meat and the bones and resist debating)the 13th in the morning at our regular time.  This will be for those topics like end times, heaven and hell,  and even what I mentioned last week about the possibility of being set so free that we no longer sin.  These are topics that when some of us hear them we automatically shut down and tune out from, understandably so.     I realize that these are so far out there for many as to potentially be offensive and/or highly confusing.   For me, many of these fall in the category of ” I cannot be 100% sure about that so would not teach on or come to a conclusive conclusion on”.   But I also know there are some who long to have a place to explore these things with others.      My own knowledge on these is limited so I would come to facilitate and to hear things I have perhaps never heard before and then challenge myself to go back to the Word and see what I see for myself.  If there is interest, I am willing.  The only thing that I ask is that if you do want to share on something, please let me know what topic an prepare a scripture packet with some verses to share with others so that we can see what you want to talk about with scripture in front of our eyes.   If we pick one to three topics to limit ourselves to, then people can decide if that is something they would like to explore together with others.  I would like to emphasize, that this session will not appeal to everyone, so do consider the topics mentioned and decide if it is for you or not.  AND that the goal is not to establish doctrine, but simply to explore scriptures that are often left unexplored.

I was thinking this week about my Dad.   He does not know the Lord yet and yet, God has used Him so many times to speak into my life with powerful truths that I had missed.   Truly God has poured out His goodness on all of creation.   How encouraging to know that our faithful Heavenly Father surrounds us with opportunities to learn and increase in our wisdom and knowledge of Him.   Of course, our focus is on the Word of God, but I was reminded this week to always keep an eye out for the divine wisdom that is imparted to us through others.  Father I pray that we would remain or be released into true humility so that we can love with unfeigned love those around us and be released from all judgments.   Scripture tells us only Jesus never erred.   Let our hearts remain hopeful for redemption of every broken situation, giving one another room to have some things right and some things wrong and trust that you will sort us all out,  and thereby be really free to catch those marvelous glimpse of You in every part of your marvelous creation.  No matter how far someone seems to be from the Lord in our eyes, His fingerprints on that life some where.   Oh I long for eyes to see it every time and to encourage each one.  In the name of our Precious Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.