In my last blog I shared about a truly miraculous, life-changing event that happened to me as the result of being in a great spot with the Lord. I was running toward Him with all cylinders, enjoying His presence, and open to His voice; and an amazing & supernatural thing occurred (see “Spiritual Gifts 5 – A Prophecy Story”). Today, I’m going to share about the other fork in the road…when we find ourselves impeded by self-inflicted barriers that block God’s work in us and through us. We all carry echoes of the fall-of-man within us that continue to war with our Creator. They’re instinctive urges & expressions of self-will that prevent us from acquiescing to God’s reign over us. Like the ancient serpent’s whispering temptation into Adam & Eve’s ears “Did God really say…,” our ears itch with similar desires to touch and experience that which has been forbidden by the Most High so we can do things on our own terms; and we end-up suffering for it. The Bible calls this sin.
I’m going to invite you into my journey, which I think is probably the most effective way to communicate. Of course, it’s easiest and most convenient when the portions of said journey reflect well upon my character, and cause the reader to admire me in some way. However, as is always the case behind braggadocious sermonizing & Facebook feeds, I tend to learn my most valuable life lessons through my failures…and I suppose it’s the same for you. But we don’t really like to share about that, do we? We tend to hide those parts of us that are less than right and cover them over with shiny, happy veneers. I don’t think it’s necessary or appropriate to go into details, but let’s just say that I’ve been struggling with an area of sin in my life; something that frequently rears its ugly head within me, messes with my motivations & behaviors, and throws wrenches in the gears of my relationships with God & others. Every time I give myself over to its lies I end up feeling betrayed, distant from God, and devoid of His power…do you have a thing like that?
- A substance addiction that beckons you with promises of escape & release
- An unhealthy relationship that causes you to compromise Godly values
- A fixation on consumption of food, clothing, drink, or experiences as a way of filling the void
- A greedy drive for money, power, or possessions that controls your definition of success
- An unbridled sex-drive that tempts you to engage in porn & unbiblical sexual experiences
- A self-righteous anger that causes you to seethe with disdain and explode with rage
- A self-deprecating grief that alienates you from people and entices you with alternative-realities.
So, why am I writing about sin in a series about spiritual gifts? Because sin puts barriers between us and God. Remember all throughout the Bible how it talks about FAITH being the thing that unlocks God’s blessings and miracles, etc.? The New Testament word we translate as “faith” literally means to be “fully persuaded,” to “totally trust” that God’s way is best. Like the good Father He is, God always responds to faith with favor, and always responds to sin with redirection. The world speaks an opposing narrative of self-determination, and our eyes & ears are filled with lies about this…saying that we can have our cake and eat it too. We hear things like “God wants me to be happy, and [indulging in something that God condemns] actually makes me feel happy, therefore it must be good for me to [indulge in whatever it is]. I’ve heard this to justify drunkenness, sex outside of marriage, divorce, and other stuff. Sins like these certainly don’t damn us to hell, but the circular reasoning that justifies them alienates us from the Living God. We need to get our heads on straight…
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proudbut shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (James 4:2-8)
Now, understand me correctly….this is not a “works theology” about salvation. It’s crystal clear that God’s offer of salvation for heaven is a free gift based upon His grace rather than our obedience. “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). We often misunderstand the difference between salvation and sanctification. Salvation means that God saves us from eternal death by offering us the free gift of eternal life because of what Jesus did for us through His death, burial, and resurrection from the dead. Amen on that! Sanctification, however, means that after we are saved and already part of God’s family, we find ourselves at the beginning of our journey with Him rather than the end…and how we travel the road of life with Him will determine how He interacts with us, and to others through us. So, although I am free in Christ and saved for Heaven, He’s not going to entrust me with important messages for others when my own lifestyle is in direct opposition to His reign. Why would we think that God would reward us with blessings of greater understanding, miraculous gifts, prophecies, etc., when we refuse to abide by what He’s already given us? Remember, His ultimate goal is relationship with you.
I’ve learned (and am learning again) that when I find myself in this unwelcome but familiar place, I have to die to myself in order to find the pathway back to the way of Jesus. When I hold on to sin it always involves self-deceit, which is a function of the original sin of pride….and self-deceit shields us from the blessing of shame. Shame has gotten a bad rap in recent years, as new generations of positive-thinkers attempt to live “shame-free” lives by focusing only on the positive and denying the existence of negatives within them and their consequences. But shame, like any other God-given emotion, is neutral…it can carry our souls to places all along the spectrum. I agree that there is self-destructive shame, which originates with the lie that “I am bad” and ends up taking me into downward spirals of self-loathing; but there is also life-giving shame, which is part of the God stuff in us that leads to repentance. When we embrace shame and hand it over to God’s capable Hands, we see clearly how we’ve veered off the right path, how to apologize and adopt His better way, and how to start walking toward Him again in a state of renewed blessing. This is why I keep friends around me who aren’t afraid to tell me the truth about myself when I’m full of Godless bull-s*$%. Not because they ridicule me and make me feel like a maggot, but because they love me and have permission to remind me of my deepest and most important values.
It’s essential that we open ourselves to criticism and judgment from those who have our best interest in mind, to scripture, and to the gnawing sense of the Holy Spirit inside us that won’t let us rest in a state of unrepented sin. Not because God hates us when we do, but because He loves us and hates when we block ourselves from the miracles and hope and love He wants to birth in us. After I have repented and placed the reins back in God’s sovereign Hand, new life springs up like fresh shoots out of April soil, and His celestial GPS navigates a brand-new course toward my destiny from where I’m at.
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10)
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)
“…In order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)
“I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:21-25)
2 replies on “Spiritual Gifts 6 – Removing Barriers”
The following comments will probably compose the longest sentence I've ever written.
Why do we believers, who can do all the things that God calls us to do, through Christ, by means of Holy Spirit in us, who have become the righteousness of God in Christ, who are MORE than conquerors, VICTORS and not victims, who are SONS and DAUGHTERS of the most high God, His MASTERPIECES, who have the power that raised Jesus from the dead dwelling in our newly born again spirits and at our disposal to use, for among other things, to walk in obedience and choosing not to sin, are ninety five percent of the time or even higher, choosing and willing to give credit to our flesh, old nature, failures and Satan as the channels through which we are to learn to grow and get to know God better, rather than from our victories over sin, our successes as followers of Jesus, the manifestations of our using the power of Holy Spirit to resist Satan and watching him flee, while fleeing the the youthful lusts of the flesh, having power over temptation and sin, walking as Jesus walked in the power of Holy Spirit, healing the sick, casting out demons and making the blind to see but not even doing those things, bypassing them and wanting to do the, ",…even greater things," when we're not even doing the things that He did, when the truth be told, it's because we aren't being more than conquerors, we choose to allow ourselves to become victims of Satan and the world system, which He controls, not truly believing that we have become the righteousness of God in Jesus, that we can do ALL the things God calls us to do, not believing (unbelief) that God, through Jesus' stripes, has made the provision for us to be in good health and prosper, as John wrote. Overall, we've chosen to remain in unbelief, preventing ourselves from walking victoriously in the power of Holy Spirit but rather choosing to walk in the flesh.
I guess the reason we seem to always (most of the time) talk about our failures is because that is what we must be doing most of the time, or at least, that's what we say we do most of the time. According to what God says about us and who He says we are, I believe we are to walk and testify as the victors and the 'more than conquerors' that we truly are, having become the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD in Jesus as we follow Him!
Could this be, to a large part, why many members of the Body of Christ are thinking, talking and walking as failures rather than the victors that we truly are?
Thank you Keith! Nothing wonderful ever happened in God's Kingdom as a result of His people walking in timidity and skepticism. This is a great shot of FAITH in the arm, keep 'em comin'!