In the melodies of bossa nova
I hear my heaven composition,
And in its harmony I feel the air in my
Divinely built mansion.
One day every day will be bossa nova.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Doing things in our own strength (Conclusion)
As the God of Israel never commanded His servants to do anything beyond their ability, responsibility, or authority, so the Lord Jesus, God in the flesh, never commanded His disciples to do anything they could not do.
One day, as some of you may remember, Jesus was on a boat with Peter, James, and John, who were fishermen. He commanded them to throw out their nets for a catch. He didn't give them a golden super net, but commanded them to use the same net they had been using to fish all that night, the net they used without success.
They threw out their nets. Jesus caused a miracle catch of fish which gave them more fish than the boat could carry. Now it is noted that the very same net they had been using didn't break, so Jesus clearly strengthened the net they already had. But be clear that it was not a new net from heaven.
In the situation when Peter walked on water at Jesus' command, it was Peter's own legs, moved by Peter's own strength, that walked on water. Jesus didn't come to the boat, pick Peter up, and carry him, because that is not what Peter asked. Nor did Jesus send His Spirit into Peter to make Peter walk, or "walk for Peter." No. Peter walked, and Jesus made it possible for him to stay afloat on the water.
As it was in the Old Testament and the New Testament, so it is today.
God sends us to our destinations in the strength we have, requiring no more of us than we are able. When we use the strength that we have, God honors and vindicates us. And what we cannot do, God does for us.
As I've shared before, I share again. (If you've read my blog "How Do We Actually Keep From Sinning?", then you can skip the next analogy.)
I used to be a bouncer. One night a woman wanted me tell a man next to her to leave her alone. I asked the woman if she told the man to leave her alone. She said no. I told her that I could not tell the man to stop bothering her unless she told him first. Once she told him, then I could come in and enforce her wishes. If he refused to listen to me, I could get him out of the bar (with the other bouncers if necessary.)
She had to speak to the bothersome man according to her ability, responsibility, and authority as a free adult American citizen. Once she did, she need not do any more. I would come in and do for her what she does not have the ability, responsibility, and authority to do.
Do you see? It is the same with God.
If you are trying to break a habit, deal with a difficult person, or accomplish a difficult goal, you must do what you have the ability, responsibility, and authority to do, and pray for that which you don't have the ability or authority. If you wait for a miracle where one is not required, you will wait in vain. In addition to this, you are asking for God to dishonor you, to treat you as Satan treats those whom in enslaves. You will wait for a feeling or motivation that is really up to you. Do you want to obey God? What if you don't? What if you feel like you have no genuine desire or motivation to obey? Well what if you did? What would you do if you did have motivation to obey God? DO THAT! C.S. Lewis makes that point very well in a quote from "Mere Christianity."
“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”
In whatever situation you are in, there are two issues alone:
1. Will you completely place your trust in God as your Creator and Savior right now?
2. Will you do what you know deep in your heart and conscience God requires of you?
You can do these two things with the strength you have. You need no more strength for these two things. If you did, then you have the strength to ask God. If you didn't have the strength even to ask for the strength you don't have, then God would have acted for you already. He will not leave the weak and helpless without strength or help. But He will require you to use the strength that you have to the extent that you can.
May you go in the strength that you have, wherever God's Spirit leads you.
One day, as some of you may remember, Jesus was on a boat with Peter, James, and John, who were fishermen. He commanded them to throw out their nets for a catch. He didn't give them a golden super net, but commanded them to use the same net they had been using to fish all that night, the net they used without success.
They threw out their nets. Jesus caused a miracle catch of fish which gave them more fish than the boat could carry. Now it is noted that the very same net they had been using didn't break, so Jesus clearly strengthened the net they already had. But be clear that it was not a new net from heaven.
In the situation when Peter walked on water at Jesus' command, it was Peter's own legs, moved by Peter's own strength, that walked on water. Jesus didn't come to the boat, pick Peter up, and carry him, because that is not what Peter asked. Nor did Jesus send His Spirit into Peter to make Peter walk, or "walk for Peter." No. Peter walked, and Jesus made it possible for him to stay afloat on the water.
As it was in the Old Testament and the New Testament, so it is today.
God sends us to our destinations in the strength we have, requiring no more of us than we are able. When we use the strength that we have, God honors and vindicates us. And what we cannot do, God does for us.
As I've shared before, I share again. (If you've read my blog "How Do We Actually Keep From Sinning?", then you can skip the next analogy.)
I used to be a bouncer. One night a woman wanted me tell a man next to her to leave her alone. I asked the woman if she told the man to leave her alone. She said no. I told her that I could not tell the man to stop bothering her unless she told him first. Once she told him, then I could come in and enforce her wishes. If he refused to listen to me, I could get him out of the bar (with the other bouncers if necessary.)
She had to speak to the bothersome man according to her ability, responsibility, and authority as a free adult American citizen. Once she did, she need not do any more. I would come in and do for her what she does not have the ability, responsibility, and authority to do.
Do you see? It is the same with God.
If you are trying to break a habit, deal with a difficult person, or accomplish a difficult goal, you must do what you have the ability, responsibility, and authority to do, and pray for that which you don't have the ability or authority. If you wait for a miracle where one is not required, you will wait in vain. In addition to this, you are asking for God to dishonor you, to treat you as Satan treats those whom in enslaves. You will wait for a feeling or motivation that is really up to you. Do you want to obey God? What if you don't? What if you feel like you have no genuine desire or motivation to obey? Well what if you did? What would you do if you did have motivation to obey God? DO THAT! C.S. Lewis makes that point very well in a quote from "Mere Christianity."
“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”
In whatever situation you are in, there are two issues alone:
1. Will you completely place your trust in God as your Creator and Savior right now?
2. Will you do what you know deep in your heart and conscience God requires of you?
You can do these two things with the strength you have. You need no more strength for these two things. If you did, then you have the strength to ask God. If you didn't have the strength even to ask for the strength you don't have, then God would have acted for you already. He will not leave the weak and helpless without strength or help. But He will require you to use the strength that you have to the extent that you can.
May you go in the strength that you have, wherever God's Spirit leads you.
Doing things in our own strength (Part 3)
God gave His children control over their volitions. He is not like Satan or demons who seek total domination or possession.
With Gideon and Adam we've seen the cooperation of submission.
We see the same with Abraham.
God promised Abraham and Sarah a son. God showed grace to them and fulfilled His promise. At the time God said, Sarah became pregnant.
Now how did she become pregnant? Immaculate conception? Did God Himself impregnate her, as some falsely believe that He did with the virgin Mary? BLASPHEMY!
God opened Sarah's barren womb. God gave her the ability to be impregnated by her husband, though she was naturally beyond the age of child bearing. But Abraham "knew" his wife as as any other husband would know his wife. God opened and empowered Sarah's womb. Abraham and Sarah did what husbands and wives do.
Now we come to what I consider a kind of climax in my Old Testament examples. For me, this example makes the point better than any other.
God calls Moses to deliver Israel in Exodus chapter 3. In chapter 4, Moses is concerned about Israel doubting him, and asks God about his concern. God says these words in reply,
"What is that in your hand?"
"A staff," Moses answered.
"Throw the staff to the ground."
Let's stop here and ponder what is happening.
Now this staff in Moses' hand is the very staff he has been using as a shepherd. It is this staff that God commands Moses to throw to the ground. Moses doesn't say, "LORD, I can't throw it down 'in my own strength.'" Of course Moses can throw down a stick...or allow gravity to simply pull it to the ground as he opens his fingers.
God did not command Moses to turn the staff into a snake, because Moses could not do that "in his own strength." But what Moses could do, God commanded. He did not take charge of Moses' arm and make his arm throw down the staff. Nor did God pull the staff from Moses' hand by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Most importantly, God did not even tell Moses the staff would become a snake! Moses had no idea this was going to happen, which is why he ran from the snake! So it took little to no "faith" for Moses to obey the commandment of God. He only did what he had the ability to do.
The same is true for his hand becoming leprous and being healed. God told Moses to put his hand inside of his cloak, not telling him it would become leprous. Moses performed the simple acts of putting his hand in his cloak and taking it out.
Moses throws down his staff. God turns it into a snake.
Moses puts his hand in his cloak, God makes it leprous.
No magical golden staff came from heaven for Moses, but only the staff in Moses' own hand was necessary, the same old staff he'd been using. With this staff, Moses performed mighty wonders.
The same is true with David. He didn't receive a super slingshot to kill Goliath, but instead he used the same slingshot he always used as a shepherd protecting sheep. He used the same basic slingshot skills he'd been using, and God blessed this with success.
Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and Gideon used the strength they had, or their own strength, to do God's will. And what they could not do, they trusted God to do, according to His ability, responsibility, and authority. But they used their God given ability, responsibility, and authority, for God's glory.
There is even a situation where the men of Israel go to war under the leadership of Joshua, and we see men of God using "their own strength" to accomplish God's will. Read these verses with me:
With Gideon and Adam we've seen the cooperation of submission.
We see the same with Abraham.
God promised Abraham and Sarah a son. God showed grace to them and fulfilled His promise. At the time God said, Sarah became pregnant.
Now how did she become pregnant? Immaculate conception? Did God Himself impregnate her, as some falsely believe that He did with the virgin Mary? BLASPHEMY!
God opened Sarah's barren womb. God gave her the ability to be impregnated by her husband, though she was naturally beyond the age of child bearing. But Abraham "knew" his wife as as any other husband would know his wife. God opened and empowered Sarah's womb. Abraham and Sarah did what husbands and wives do.
Now we come to what I consider a kind of climax in my Old Testament examples. For me, this example makes the point better than any other.
God calls Moses to deliver Israel in Exodus chapter 3. In chapter 4, Moses is concerned about Israel doubting him, and asks God about his concern. God says these words in reply,
"What is that in your hand?"
"A staff," Moses answered.
"Throw the staff to the ground."
Let's stop here and ponder what is happening.
Now this staff in Moses' hand is the very staff he has been using as a shepherd. It is this staff that God commands Moses to throw to the ground. Moses doesn't say, "LORD, I can't throw it down 'in my own strength.'" Of course Moses can throw down a stick...or allow gravity to simply pull it to the ground as he opens his fingers.
God did not command Moses to turn the staff into a snake, because Moses could not do that "in his own strength." But what Moses could do, God commanded. He did not take charge of Moses' arm and make his arm throw down the staff. Nor did God pull the staff from Moses' hand by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Most importantly, God did not even tell Moses the staff would become a snake! Moses had no idea this was going to happen, which is why he ran from the snake! So it took little to no "faith" for Moses to obey the commandment of God. He only did what he had the ability to do.
The same is true for his hand becoming leprous and being healed. God told Moses to put his hand inside of his cloak, not telling him it would become leprous. Moses performed the simple acts of putting his hand in his cloak and taking it out.
Moses throws down his staff. God turns it into a snake.
Moses puts his hand in his cloak, God makes it leprous.
No magical golden staff came from heaven for Moses, but only the staff in Moses' own hand was necessary, the same old staff he'd been using. With this staff, Moses performed mighty wonders.
The same is true with David. He didn't receive a super slingshot to kill Goliath, but instead he used the same slingshot he always used as a shepherd protecting sheep. He used the same basic slingshot skills he'd been using, and God blessed this with success.
Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and Gideon used the strength they had, or their own strength, to do God's will. And what they could not do, they trusted God to do, according to His ability, responsibility, and authority. But they used their God given ability, responsibility, and authority, for God's glory.
There is even a situation where the men of Israel go to war under the leadership of Joshua, and we see men of God using "their own strength" to accomplish God's will. Read these verses with me:
The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Exodus 17:8-13
Wow!
First, notice that the "staff in Moses' hand," the same old staff he'd been using as a regular old shepherd, is now THE STAFF OF GOD! Not a new, shiny heavenly golden staff, mind you! The same old staff!
Second, MOSES' HANDS GREW TIRED!
Now wait just a minute!
Why didn't God give Moses supernatural strength and endurance, like he would give Samson later on? We know Moses is holding up the staff "in his own strength" because he is getting tired, and God never gets tired. So what happens? Does God strengthen Moses' arms? Negative. Aaron and Hur hold up Mose's hands, IN THEIR OWN STRENGTH! It is human strength that is holding up Moses' hands--the human strength of Moses, Aaron, and Hur. Now why didn't Aaron or Hur just take "the staff of God" and hold it INSTEAD OF MOSES? In fact, and again, WHY ANY OF THIS? WHY DOESN'T GOD JUST WIPE OUT THE AMALEKITES HIMSELF?!!?! FIRE FROM HEAVEN? PLAGUES!!!? SOMETHING!?
No, we see a cooperation between God and men, earth and heaven. God would not do for Moses, Aaron, and Hur, what they could do for themselves, according to the ability, responsibility, and authority He gave them, as well as not doing anything for Joshua and the army that they had the ability to do.
These are my examples from the Old Testament. Now we move to Jesus, God in the flesh. As it was with the Father, so we will see with the Son....
Doing things in our own strength (Part 2)
In the Bible, from beginning to end, God does not require of people what He has not given them the ability, responsibility, and authority to do. And God does not do for people what He has given them the ability, responsibility, and authority to do.
Take Adam in the Garden of Eden.
In Genesis chapter 2, God planted the Garden of Eden and put the man in the garden to work it.
Who planted the Garden?
God.
Who put the man in the garden?
God.
Who worked the garden?
Adam.
God made Adam in His image and likeness. As God brought order in creation, Adam was to bring order in the garden.
God created the garden. God put man in the garden. Man worked the garden. We see the cooperation of freewill submission, and not the domination of demon possession.
Again, look at God's relationship to Adam in the same chapter of Genesis.
God made the animals. God brought the animals to Adam. Adam named the animals.
God did not require Adam to make the animals and bring them to himself. If God had, then Adam could have rightly said, "LORD, I can't do that 'in my own strength.'" And he would have been right. He did not have the ability, responsibility, or authority to create animals.
But Adam was created in the image and God. God named the day, night, sky, earth, and seas. And Adam, in the image of God, had the ability, responsibility, and authority to name the animals. After all, God gave Adam dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that moves on the earth.
Yet again, take for example, God's creation of the woman.
God put the man into a deep sleep, opened up his flesh, took out a rib, closed the man's flesh, and made a woman out of the rib. God then brings the woman to the man. So far, we see God alone acting according to His divine ability, responsibility, and authority. God was not pleased that the man should be alone, so it was up to Him to do what pleased Him in relation to the man.
Once God brings the woman to the man, then the man says, "This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man."
God made her. God brought her. Adam named her.
God acts. Man acts in the cooperation of free will submission. We'll see the same thing happening with Abraham and Moses.
Take Adam in the Garden of Eden.
In Genesis chapter 2, God planted the Garden of Eden and put the man in the garden to work it.
Who planted the Garden?
God.
Who put the man in the garden?
God.
Who worked the garden?
Adam.
God made Adam in His image and likeness. As God brought order in creation, Adam was to bring order in the garden.
God created the garden. God put man in the garden. Man worked the garden. We see the cooperation of freewill submission, and not the domination of demon possession.
Again, look at God's relationship to Adam in the same chapter of Genesis.
God made the animals. God brought the animals to Adam. Adam named the animals.
God did not require Adam to make the animals and bring them to himself. If God had, then Adam could have rightly said, "LORD, I can't do that 'in my own strength.'" And he would have been right. He did not have the ability, responsibility, or authority to create animals.
But Adam was created in the image and God. God named the day, night, sky, earth, and seas. And Adam, in the image of God, had the ability, responsibility, and authority to name the animals. After all, God gave Adam dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that moves on the earth.
Yet again, take for example, God's creation of the woman.
God put the man into a deep sleep, opened up his flesh, took out a rib, closed the man's flesh, and made a woman out of the rib. God then brings the woman to the man. So far, we see God alone acting according to His divine ability, responsibility, and authority. God was not pleased that the man should be alone, so it was up to Him to do what pleased Him in relation to the man.
Once God brings the woman to the man, then the man says, "This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man."
God made her. God brought her. Adam named her.
God acts. Man acts in the cooperation of free will submission. We'll see the same thing happening with Abraham and Moses.
Doing things in our own strength (Part 1)
"We can not do anything in 'our own strength,'" according to some Christians.
By "anything," they mean the act of submitting to God and resisting the devil, or doing God's will and refusing the devil's. This is an attempt in humility, according to Jesus' words, "Abide in me, and I in you. .. Apart from me you can do nothing." (See John 15)
The impression I've always gotten from this concept is that a miraculous power has to come over me, enable me to want to do God's will, and then make me do it. So if I was tempted by sin, I should pray, quote scriptures, and wait for "the power." According to those who hold such a belief, I should pray something like this, "I can't do it. God, do it through me." I should "let go and let God." After all, "it's not about trying, it's about trusting." And so the cliches go.
I understand the desire of those who believe this, having been one who was taught the same, and one who practiced "letting go and letting God." I know the desire to abide in Christ, to stay connected to Him in total dependence and total surrender, seeking His power. But there are two problems with this belief:
1. A Deception. The power never happened when I would wait for it to hit me. No matter how many prayers I prayed or scriptures I quoted, God never made me want to obey Him, and He never made me obey Him. No feeling came. No internal motivation to resist sin came. No internal supernatural ability came to say "no" to Satan and sin, and "yes" to God.
2. The reason is that God is not Satan or a demon. He does not partake in possession or domination in the ways of Satan and demons. With God there is the cooperation of free will submission.
Understand these two truths:
For example, in Judges 6:11-14, when God called Gideon to save Israel from the Midians, the LORD said to Gideon, "Go in the strength that you have and save Israel from the Midanites. Am I not sending you?"
What is the difference between Gideon "going in the strength that he has" and "going in his own strength," according to the present day cliche? Nothing. These are two ways of saying the same thing. And it is actually very encouraging for God to say this to Gideon. It shows that all Gideon has to do is be as strong as he presently is at that moment. No more strength is required of him than what he has. I believe this is what happened in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and what happens today with God's children in their God given missions. We see this with Adam, Abraham, and Moses in the Old Testament. We see this with Jesus in relationship to His disciples. We'll discuss this in the coming blogs....
By "anything," they mean the act of submitting to God and resisting the devil, or doing God's will and refusing the devil's. This is an attempt in humility, according to Jesus' words, "Abide in me, and I in you. .. Apart from me you can do nothing." (See John 15)
The impression I've always gotten from this concept is that a miraculous power has to come over me, enable me to want to do God's will, and then make me do it. So if I was tempted by sin, I should pray, quote scriptures, and wait for "the power." According to those who hold such a belief, I should pray something like this, "I can't do it. God, do it through me." I should "let go and let God." After all, "it's not about trying, it's about trusting." And so the cliches go.
I understand the desire of those who believe this, having been one who was taught the same, and one who practiced "letting go and letting God." I know the desire to abide in Christ, to stay connected to Him in total dependence and total surrender, seeking His power. But there are two problems with this belief:
1. A Deception. The power never happened when I would wait for it to hit me. No matter how many prayers I prayed or scriptures I quoted, God never made me want to obey Him, and He never made me obey Him. No feeling came. No internal motivation to resist sin came. No internal supernatural ability came to say "no" to Satan and sin, and "yes" to God.
2. The reason is that God is not Satan or a demon. He does not partake in possession or domination in the ways of Satan and demons. With God there is the cooperation of free will submission.
Understand these two truths:
God does not do for us what He has given us the ability, responsibility, and authority to do.
God does not require of us what He does not give us the ability, responsibility, and authority to do.
For example, in Judges 6:11-14, when God called Gideon to save Israel from the Midians, the LORD said to Gideon, "Go in the strength that you have and save Israel from the Midanites. Am I not sending you?"
What is the difference between Gideon "going in the strength that he has" and "going in his own strength," according to the present day cliche? Nothing. These are two ways of saying the same thing. And it is actually very encouraging for God to say this to Gideon. It shows that all Gideon has to do is be as strong as he presently is at that moment. No more strength is required of him than what he has. I believe this is what happened in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and what happens today with God's children in their God given missions. We see this with Adam, Abraham, and Moses in the Old Testament. We see this with Jesus in relationship to His disciples. We'll discuss this in the coming blogs....
Friday, February 24, 2012
How do we actually stop sinning? (Part 3)
It was written by the Apostle Paul:
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
Think of what God did with Cain before he murdered Abel. And think again of when God came to Abimelech in the following scripture from the book of Genesis:
"Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. "
But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die.” Genesis 20:1-7
God came to Abimelech and warned him of impending sin. And we know that God came to Cain, warning him of the "sin crouching at his door," warning him of his anger that would lead to his brother's murder.
Think of it like crime shows or movies where an officer or detective or "good guy" comes in, and a "bad guy" has a gun to his head or to someone else's head. What does the good guy say to the bad guy? "YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS!" The very presence of the good guy has introduced an element of reality, shaking the bad guy out of his insanity. "YOU HAVE A CHOICE. YOU HAVE OPTIONS," says the good guy.
God did the very same thing with Cain and Abimelech, and I believe He does the very same thing with believers AND unbelievers, as it is written by Paul:
"From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’" Acts 17:26-28
Again, look at what Jesus says about the Spirit:
“Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."
John 16:5-11
Watchman Nee, the author of "The Spiritual Man" said this concerning the Spirit's conviction of the conscience:
"If we desire to follow the spirit (and since we never reach a stage of infallibility), we must heed what our inward monitor tells us regarding both inclination and overt action. For its works would be decidedly incomplete if it were only after we have committed error that conscience should rise up to reprove us. But we realize that even before we take any step-while we are still considering our way our conscience together with our intuition will protest immediately and make us uneasy at any thought or inclination which is displeasing to the Holy Spirit. If we were more disposed today to mind the voice of conscience we would not be as defeated as we are."
God, by His Spirit, comes to us BEFORE and after we are tempted, to warn us of yielding, and to convict us if we yield. He also commends us if we resist, giving us encouragement and strength to continue to resist.
This is the first aspect of God's empowering grace: His presence and revelation of the liberty we have to resist the temptation. I believe this applies, though to a very limited extent, to unbelievers as well. With unbelievers, the goal of the Spirit's conviction is salvation, not just the resistance of sinful actions.
Nevertheless, until the sinner is saved, the Spirit still seeks to show them a way out of the sinful life, and the sinful decision of that moment.
The main points I'm making are these:
God's empowerment, when it comes to moral decisions or actions, is like the power of a perfect attorney. It is not like a physical power or energy that moves or makes the will act or choose or refuse. He can perfectly persuade and convince and motivate with truth, as the Lord Jesus said:
"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32
What sets the real disciple of Christ free?
The truth.
Therefore, the first truth of God's empowering grace is liberty, the fact that we have a choice.
If in any way we don't believe we have a choice in what we do, or that we cannot choose freely unless God does something to us, through us, or for us, beyond what He has already done in giving us a free will and a convicted conscience, we will wait for something miraculous or supernatural to happen to us BEFORE we resist sinning. But that something won't happen, and the devil will discourage us with condemnation.
Let me give one more illustration of this. When I was a bouncer, I had two experiences of the empowerment I'm speaking of. In the first, a woman looked at me and mouthed theses words, "Please get him away from me." I said in her ear, "Did you ask him to leave you alone?" She said, "No." I told her that she had to tell him to leave her alone FIRST. Then, AND ONLY THEN, could I step in.
The second experience involved me and a police officer stationed at the bar I worked. I told the officer that a patron needed to leave. The officer told me the same thing I told the young lady. I had to tell the patron to leave. If he refused, he is now trespassing. Then the officer would come and give the same command, reinforcing my command. After this refusal, the patron would be trespassing after warning, and be taken to jail...not by me, but by the officer.
Do you see the points? The woman had to exercise the authority of her identity by her will FIRST. I had to excercise my authority as a bouncer FIRST. Then the woman and I would experience the empowerment, or enforcement, of our wills or decisions. I (and the other bouncers) would get the man out for the woman. The police officer (and other officers, if necessary) would get the patron out. Notice the "power" given to my will and the woman's will. We spoke. Our wills, or words, were enforced. The power was in our enforcement, so that it didn't matter how big the man was that allegedly bothered the woman, or how big the patron was that needed to leave, we had more than enough power behind our words to have our words or wills enforced.
BUT THERE HAS TO BE A WILL TO ENFORCE! HOW CAN GOD EMPOWER US TO REFUSE SIN IF WE DON'T ACTUALLY REFUSE IT?
What I revealed to the woman was her liberty to tell the man to leave her alone. Perhaps she didn't know that she had that liberty and power, that SHE could actually tell the man to leave her alone. I didn't know that the police needed me to give the man the order first. And this empowered me from that time on. Therefore, the first truth of God's empowering grace is His liberating and reinforcing presence, just like my presence liberated and reinforced the woman as one who should be respected, and the officer's presence reinforced and liberated my authority as a bouncer.
The second truth of God's empowering grace is His goodness towards us. Joseph told Potiphar's wife that the Lord was with Him, and that Potiphar had given him everything except her. Joseph saw and appreciated God's goodness, and this motivated or empowered him to resist tempation.
Going back to the analogy of the officer in the movie, the one trying to stop a man from killing himself: The officer usually says something like, "You don't have to do this! You have a choice. Think of your wife and children who love you."
The officer is appealing to the goodness of the man's life as a motivation to resist the temptation to commit suicide. If the man can be convinced that he has something good to live for, then he will not kill himself.
The same is true with God and the one tempted to sin. God shows the one tempted His goodness as a provider, and His willingness to meet whatever need he is trying to meet selfishly. He persuades the tempted one by His Spirit to turn from sin and turn to Him. There are many ways God does this, in many situations. He may do this through a loved one, through circumstances that remind a person of a specific blessing, etc. This is the second truth of God's empowering grace.
The third truth is God's revelation of the vileness of sin. I've said this in an article I wrote in The Discipleship Dojo. In every temptation to sin, there will be something in the temptation that reveals it as unappealing. This is part of God's faithfulness in not letting us be tempted beyond what we are able, according to 1 Corinthians 10:13. This is one of the ways of escape God promises. Even with the power of Satan, Satan's world system, and the power of the selfish nature of our bodily passions, God will not let the strength of the temptations exceed the strength of our wills to resist. If there is any way that God DOES DO SOMETHING to us, through us, or for us, it is in the equalizing of our strength with the strength of the tempter or temptation. God "levels the playing field," if you will.
Think of temptation like weight lifting. If we experience 1000 pounds of resistance, then we will receive the ability to resist 1000 pounds, or even more! So, "where sin abounds, grace will even more so abound." Nevertheless, we still have to actually refuse to sin as Joseph did, to say a decisive and final "NO!." The strength will be there to do so IF WE ACTUALLY WANT TO RESIST THE TEMPTATION! If this is the case, we will submit to God and resist the devil. And in submitting our wills to God, God will empower, or reinforce, our submission. God did for Joseph what I did for the woman, and what the officer did for me. God reinforced Joseph's continual resistance and refusal to commit adultery.
In summary,
The way we actually stop sinning is to actually refuse the tempter or temptress! To say a decisive and final "No!" We refuse because God has given us the liberty to do so, because of His infinite and eternal goodness towards us, and because of the vileness of sinning against God and against people. These three truths are God's empowering grace, the motivations, powers, and persuasions given by God's Spirit that enable us to resist sinning. God's empowering grace is not a supernatural or miraculous power that kicks in and makes us resist sin or stop sinning, or that makes us choose to submit to Him and refuse to sin. The creature needs the Creator, but not like a puppet needs a puppet master. God is our liberator and enforcer, enforcing the law of liberty for humanity, made in His image and likeness and glory. He sent His Son to set us free from sin's slavery, revealing to us the good news of our emancipation. For the unbeliever, He does this through creation, conscience, conviction, and the gospel. For the believer, He does this by the indwelling Spirit. For both, He persuades by the truth, by the Spirit of truth who is truth, by His word, which is truth. If we will accept the truth, we will be empowered by God's grace to refuse sin. If we reject the truth, we yield to falsehood. The choice is ours. We have a choice. Amen.
For an indepth look at living without sinning, read Cleansed and Abiding: A Proposed View of Christian Perfection by James-Michael Smith, and Is It Possible To Live Without Sin? by me!
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
God given liberty to humanity is the first aspect of God's empowering grace.
Think of what God did with Cain before he murdered Abel. And think again of when God came to Abimelech in the following scripture from the book of Genesis:
"Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. "
But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die.” Genesis 20:1-7
God came to Abimelech and warned him of impending sin. And we know that God came to Cain, warning him of the "sin crouching at his door," warning him of his anger that would lead to his brother's murder.
Think of it like crime shows or movies where an officer or detective or "good guy" comes in, and a "bad guy" has a gun to his head or to someone else's head. What does the good guy say to the bad guy? "YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS!" The very presence of the good guy has introduced an element of reality, shaking the bad guy out of his insanity. "YOU HAVE A CHOICE. YOU HAVE OPTIONS," says the good guy.
God did the very same thing with Cain and Abimelech, and I believe He does the very same thing with believers AND unbelievers, as it is written by Paul:
"From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’" Acts 17:26-28
Again, look at what Jesus says about the Spirit:
“Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."
John 16:5-11
Watchman Nee, the author of "The Spiritual Man" said this concerning the Spirit's conviction of the conscience:
"If we desire to follow the spirit (and since we never reach a stage of infallibility), we must heed what our inward monitor tells us regarding both inclination and overt action. For its works would be decidedly incomplete if it were only after we have committed error that conscience should rise up to reprove us. But we realize that even before we take any step-while we are still considering our way our conscience together with our intuition will protest immediately and make us uneasy at any thought or inclination which is displeasing to the Holy Spirit. If we were more disposed today to mind the voice of conscience we would not be as defeated as we are."
God, by His Spirit, comes to us BEFORE and after we are tempted, to warn us of yielding, and to convict us if we yield. He also commends us if we resist, giving us encouragement and strength to continue to resist.
This is the first aspect of God's empowering grace: His presence and revelation of the liberty we have to resist the temptation. I believe this applies, though to a very limited extent, to unbelievers as well. With unbelievers, the goal of the Spirit's conviction is salvation, not just the resistance of sinful actions.
Nevertheless, until the sinner is saved, the Spirit still seeks to show them a way out of the sinful life, and the sinful decision of that moment.
The main points I'm making are these:
God's empowerment, when it comes to moral decisions or actions, is like the power of a perfect attorney. It is not like a physical power or energy that moves or makes the will act or choose or refuse. He can perfectly persuade and convince and motivate with truth, as the Lord Jesus said:
"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32
What sets the real disciple of Christ free?
The truth.
Therefore, the first truth of God's empowering grace is liberty, the fact that we have a choice.
If in any way we don't believe we have a choice in what we do, or that we cannot choose freely unless God does something to us, through us, or for us, beyond what He has already done in giving us a free will and a convicted conscience, we will wait for something miraculous or supernatural to happen to us BEFORE we resist sinning. But that something won't happen, and the devil will discourage us with condemnation.
Let me give one more illustration of this. When I was a bouncer, I had two experiences of the empowerment I'm speaking of. In the first, a woman looked at me and mouthed theses words, "Please get him away from me." I said in her ear, "Did you ask him to leave you alone?" She said, "No." I told her that she had to tell him to leave her alone FIRST. Then, AND ONLY THEN, could I step in.
The second experience involved me and a police officer stationed at the bar I worked. I told the officer that a patron needed to leave. The officer told me the same thing I told the young lady. I had to tell the patron to leave. If he refused, he is now trespassing. Then the officer would come and give the same command, reinforcing my command. After this refusal, the patron would be trespassing after warning, and be taken to jail...not by me, but by the officer.
Do you see the points? The woman had to exercise the authority of her identity by her will FIRST. I had to excercise my authority as a bouncer FIRST. Then the woman and I would experience the empowerment, or enforcement, of our wills or decisions. I (and the other bouncers) would get the man out for the woman. The police officer (and other officers, if necessary) would get the patron out. Notice the "power" given to my will and the woman's will. We spoke. Our wills, or words, were enforced. The power was in our enforcement, so that it didn't matter how big the man was that allegedly bothered the woman, or how big the patron was that needed to leave, we had more than enough power behind our words to have our words or wills enforced.
BUT THERE HAS TO BE A WILL TO ENFORCE! HOW CAN GOD EMPOWER US TO REFUSE SIN IF WE DON'T ACTUALLY REFUSE IT?
What I revealed to the woman was her liberty to tell the man to leave her alone. Perhaps she didn't know that she had that liberty and power, that SHE could actually tell the man to leave her alone. I didn't know that the police needed me to give the man the order first. And this empowered me from that time on. Therefore, the first truth of God's empowering grace is His liberating and reinforcing presence, just like my presence liberated and reinforced the woman as one who should be respected, and the officer's presence reinforced and liberated my authority as a bouncer.
The second truth of God's empowering grace is His goodness towards us. Joseph told Potiphar's wife that the Lord was with Him, and that Potiphar had given him everything except her. Joseph saw and appreciated God's goodness, and this motivated or empowered him to resist tempation.
Going back to the analogy of the officer in the movie, the one trying to stop a man from killing himself: The officer usually says something like, "You don't have to do this! You have a choice. Think of your wife and children who love you."
The officer is appealing to the goodness of the man's life as a motivation to resist the temptation to commit suicide. If the man can be convinced that he has something good to live for, then he will not kill himself.
The same is true with God and the one tempted to sin. God shows the one tempted His goodness as a provider, and His willingness to meet whatever need he is trying to meet selfishly. He persuades the tempted one by His Spirit to turn from sin and turn to Him. There are many ways God does this, in many situations. He may do this through a loved one, through circumstances that remind a person of a specific blessing, etc. This is the second truth of God's empowering grace.
The third truth is God's revelation of the vileness of sin. I've said this in an article I wrote in The Discipleship Dojo. In every temptation to sin, there will be something in the temptation that reveals it as unappealing. This is part of God's faithfulness in not letting us be tempted beyond what we are able, according to 1 Corinthians 10:13. This is one of the ways of escape God promises. Even with the power of Satan, Satan's world system, and the power of the selfish nature of our bodily passions, God will not let the strength of the temptations exceed the strength of our wills to resist. If there is any way that God DOES DO SOMETHING to us, through us, or for us, it is in the equalizing of our strength with the strength of the tempter or temptation. God "levels the playing field," if you will.
Think of temptation like weight lifting. If we experience 1000 pounds of resistance, then we will receive the ability to resist 1000 pounds, or even more! So, "where sin abounds, grace will even more so abound." Nevertheless, we still have to actually refuse to sin as Joseph did, to say a decisive and final "NO!." The strength will be there to do so IF WE ACTUALLY WANT TO RESIST THE TEMPTATION! If this is the case, we will submit to God and resist the devil. And in submitting our wills to God, God will empower, or reinforce, our submission. God did for Joseph what I did for the woman, and what the officer did for me. God reinforced Joseph's continual resistance and refusal to commit adultery.
In summary,
The way we actually stop sinning is to actually refuse the tempter or temptress! To say a decisive and final "No!" We refuse because God has given us the liberty to do so, because of His infinite and eternal goodness towards us, and because of the vileness of sinning against God and against people. These three truths are God's empowering grace, the motivations, powers, and persuasions given by God's Spirit that enable us to resist sinning. God's empowering grace is not a supernatural or miraculous power that kicks in and makes us resist sin or stop sinning, or that makes us choose to submit to Him and refuse to sin. The creature needs the Creator, but not like a puppet needs a puppet master. God is our liberator and enforcer, enforcing the law of liberty for humanity, made in His image and likeness and glory. He sent His Son to set us free from sin's slavery, revealing to us the good news of our emancipation. For the unbeliever, He does this through creation, conscience, conviction, and the gospel. For the believer, He does this by the indwelling Spirit. For both, He persuades by the truth, by the Spirit of truth who is truth, by His word, which is truth. If we will accept the truth, we will be empowered by God's grace to refuse sin. If we reject the truth, we yield to falsehood. The choice is ours. We have a choice. Amen.
For an indepth look at living without sinning, read Cleansed and Abiding: A Proposed View of Christian Perfection by James-Michael Smith, and Is It Possible To Live Without Sin? by me!
How do we actually stop sinning? (Part 2)
"We can not do anything in 'our own strength,'" according to some Christians.
By "anything," they mean the act of submitting to God and resisting the devil, or doing God's will and refusing the devil's. This is an attempt in humility, according to Jesus' words, "Abide in me, and I in you. .. Apart from me you can do nothing." (See John 15)
The impression I've always gotten from this concept is that a miraculous power has to come over me, enable me to want to do God's will, and then make me do it. So if I was tempted by sin, I should pray, quote scriptures, and wait for "the power." According to those who hold such a belief, I should pray something like this, "I can't do it. God, do it through me." I should "let go and let God." After all, "it's not about trying, it's about trusting." And so the cliches go.
I understand the desire of those who believe this, having been one who was taught the same, and one who practiced "letting go and letting God." I know the desire to abide in Christ, to stay connected to Him in total dependence and total surrender, seeking His power. But there are two problems with this belief:
1. A Deception. The power never happened when I would wait for it to hit me. No matter how many prayers I prayed or scriptures I quoted, God never made me want to obey Him, and He never made me obey Him. No feeling came. No internal motivation to resist sin came. No internal supernatural ability came to say "no" to Satan and sin, and "yes" to God.
2. The reason is that God is not Satan or a demon. He does not partake in possession or domination in the ways of Satan and demons. With God there is the cooperation of free will submission.
Understand these two truths:
For example, in Judges 6:11-14, when God called Gideon to save Israel from the Midians, the LORD said to Gideon, "Go in the strength that you have and save Israel from the Midanites. Am I not sending you?"
What is the difference between Gideon "going in the strength that he has" and "going in his own strength," according to the present day cliche? Nothing. These are two ways of saying the same thing. And it is actually very encouraging for God to say this to Gideon. It shows that all Gideon had to do was to be as strong as he presently was at that moment. No more strength is required of him than what he had. I believe this is what happened in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and what happens today with God's children in their God given missions. We see this with Adam, Abraham, and Moses in the Old Testament. We see this with Jesus in relationship to His disciples. We'll discuss this in the coming blog....
By "anything," they mean the act of submitting to God and resisting the devil, or doing God's will and refusing the devil's. This is an attempt in humility, according to Jesus' words, "Abide in me, and I in you. .. Apart from me you can do nothing." (See John 15)
The impression I've always gotten from this concept is that a miraculous power has to come over me, enable me to want to do God's will, and then make me do it. So if I was tempted by sin, I should pray, quote scriptures, and wait for "the power." According to those who hold such a belief, I should pray something like this, "I can't do it. God, do it through me." I should "let go and let God." After all, "it's not about trying, it's about trusting." And so the cliches go.
I understand the desire of those who believe this, having been one who was taught the same, and one who practiced "letting go and letting God." I know the desire to abide in Christ, to stay connected to Him in total dependence and total surrender, seeking His power. But there are two problems with this belief:
1. A Deception. The power never happened when I would wait for it to hit me. No matter how many prayers I prayed or scriptures I quoted, God never made me want to obey Him, and He never made me obey Him. No feeling came. No internal motivation to resist sin came. No internal supernatural ability came to say "no" to Satan and sin, and "yes" to God.
2. The reason is that God is not Satan or a demon. He does not partake in possession or domination in the ways of Satan and demons. With God there is the cooperation of free will submission.
Understand these two truths:
God does not do for us what He has given us the ability, responsibility, and authority to do.
God does not require of us what He does not give us the ability, responsibility, and authority to do.
For example, in Judges 6:11-14, when God called Gideon to save Israel from the Midians, the LORD said to Gideon, "Go in the strength that you have and save Israel from the Midanites. Am I not sending you?"
What is the difference between Gideon "going in the strength that he has" and "going in his own strength," according to the present day cliche? Nothing. These are two ways of saying the same thing. And it is actually very encouraging for God to say this to Gideon. It shows that all Gideon had to do was to be as strong as he presently was at that moment. No more strength is required of him than what he had. I believe this is what happened in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and what happens today with God's children in their God given missions. We see this with Adam, Abraham, and Moses in the Old Testament. We see this with Jesus in relationship to His disciples. We'll discuss this in the coming blog....
How do we actually stop sinning? (Part 1)
So, how do we actually stop sinning?
The answer to this question is given in Joseph’s resistance to temptation:
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. Genesis 39:1-11 NIV
Before we look at the situation with Joseph, let's look at what Paul says to the Corinthian Christians:
"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." I Corinthians 10:13 ESV
For me, a problem in some Bible teaching is the divide between theology and history or practicality. In other words, some read the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife and make a Sunday School Lesson out of it, but don't think of this as a situation that really happened between a real man and a real woman. This is exactly what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 10:1-6
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.
Apply this to Joseph's temptation. He was a man like I am a man, just like James said about Elijah:
"Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth."
So was Cain when God came to him, and so was Joseph, whom God was with as well.
Now, what do we see with Joseph when he is tempted? What did he actually do to keep from sinning when he was tempted over and over again?
HE REFUSED!
Plain and simple.
But how did he refuse? We will explore this in part 2....
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
An Introduction to My E Book
But the question of sin and our nature of sin never left me.
Are we doomed from birth with irresistible vices? Vices so strong that even the Lord Jesus Christ cannot save us? Habits so powerful that even the Holy Spirit's empower is not enough?
I never knew anyone else had these thoughts until I read the works of William Law, Watchman Nee, John Wesley, and Charles Finney. In reading them, I found hope and truth for what I had been seeking as long as I can remember--an answer to this question, which is now an E book I've recently written:
This book has been on my mind and in my heart from those days in college, practically already written. It explores my thoughts and reasons for believing in the possibility of sinless life. If you want to find the hope of the liberation from sin that comes from Christ, I invite you to think with me through the scriptures and our deepest desires. May God bless us as we seek our truest salvation.
For and in depth look at the doctrine of Christian Perfection, also read
Cleansed and Abiding: A Proposed View of Christian Perfection by JM Smith.
Cleansed and Abiding: A Proposed View of Christian Perfection by JM Smith.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Frodo, Neo, and Freedom from Sinning (Part 2)
We've seen the salvation of Gollum, if you will, when he received Frodo as a new master, setting him free from the dark lord Sauron. Think of Sauron as Satan, the ring as sinful desire, and Mordor as the Satan's evil kingdom or world system.
Now we move from Mordor to the Matrix, and into the second analogy of being set free from sinning.
Morpheus speaks to Neo about the Matrix, telling Neo what the Matrix is. Neo, having been introduced to the truth, is now presented with a choice: to reject falsehood and enter into truth, or to reject truth and remain in falsehood. And what is this truth that Neo must accept? That he's "been living in a dream world," that he is "a slave."
Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.
If Neo is to become "the one," he must first accept the reality of his slavery. He cannot be truly free, or "unplugged" until he sees that he is not free. Like Gollum, he must have a revelation of his true situation. So it is with every man and woman.
We too, were born into slavery, a prison of self centered passion, under a slave master named Satan, with this present world as his plantation.
Satan=Slave master
Selfish passions/sin=Overseer
This world/matrix=Plantation
As an African American I've thought of the concept of embracing slavery. Not of being a "sell out" or an "Uncle Tom," meaning one who loves oppression and refuses resistance. The issue with the evils of slavery in America is idolatry--false gods, false masters. "The white man" did not rightly own my ancestors. He did not rightly own them, define them, or determine their actions. Some of my ancestors sold some of my ancestors. Yet even this does not come to the point.
It is written,
"The earth is the LORD'S and everything in it, the world and all who live in it."
"You are worthy O LORD to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created."
"In Him we live and move and have our being."
"All things were created through Him and for Him, and in Him all things consist."
"You are not your own, you were bought with a price, therefore honor the Lord with your body, which is the Lord's"
In all of these scriptures, we see the true Owner, Definer, and Determiner, the true Master. It is Him we embrace, and it is this slavery that we accept.
But our first father gave the earth to a rebel spirit. Adam rejected God as his rightful Creator, Father, and Master, and accepted Satan as his new creator, father, and master. And all of Adam's children belonged to Satan from that moment on--born into slavery, into a prison for their minds....
Now we move from Mordor to the Matrix, and into the second analogy of being set free from sinning.
Morpheus speaks to Neo about the Matrix, telling Neo what the Matrix is. Neo, having been introduced to the truth, is now presented with a choice: to reject falsehood and enter into truth, or to reject truth and remain in falsehood. And what is this truth that Neo must accept? That he's "been living in a dream world," that he is "a slave."
Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.
If Neo is to become "the one," he must first accept the reality of his slavery. He cannot be truly free, or "unplugged" until he sees that he is not free. Like Gollum, he must have a revelation of his true situation. So it is with every man and woman.
We too, were born into slavery, a prison of self centered passion, under a slave master named Satan, with this present world as his plantation.
Satan=Slave master
Selfish passions/sin=Overseer
This world/matrix=Plantation
As an African American I've thought of the concept of embracing slavery. Not of being a "sell out" or an "Uncle Tom," meaning one who loves oppression and refuses resistance. The issue with the evils of slavery in America is idolatry--false gods, false masters. "The white man" did not rightly own my ancestors. He did not rightly own them, define them, or determine their actions. Some of my ancestors sold some of my ancestors. Yet even this does not come to the point.
It is written,
"The earth is the LORD'S and everything in it, the world and all who live in it."
"You are worthy O LORD to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created."
"In Him we live and move and have our being."
"All things were created through Him and for Him, and in Him all things consist."
"You are not your own, you were bought with a price, therefore honor the Lord with your body, which is the Lord's"
In all of these scriptures, we see the true Owner, Definer, and Determiner, the true Master. It is Him we embrace, and it is this slavery that we accept.
But our first father gave the earth to a rebel spirit. Adam rejected God as his rightful Creator, Father, and Master, and accepted Satan as his new creator, father, and master. And all of Adam's children belonged to Satan from that moment on--born into slavery, into a prison for their minds....
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Frodo, Neo, and Freedom from Sinning
In Scripture sin is presented as a slave master. (See my friend James-Michael's Sin as Conqueror, Captor, and Enemy.)
Look at Paul's description of sin in his letter to the Roman Christians:
In "The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers," and "The Matrix," I see three very good analogies of sin as a master, and the way to freedom from sinning.
The first analogy is in "The Two Towers." There is a scene with Gollum in which he talks to himself about "the one ring." Gollum is a slave to the ring--which tempts all who wear it with DESIRE, and POWER. The ring's master is Sauron--THE DECEIVER...who for me is a kind of Satan figure. So Gollum is ultimately ruled by Sauron when he is ruled by Sauron's ring. He cannot escape this master....until he has the revelation of a NEW master! Upon this realization, he sees that HE NO LONGER NEEDS THE OLD MASTER--THE RING, or SAURON/SATAN/SIN. So what does Gollum do with this realization? He commands his "sinful nature/the side of him enslaved to the ring" to "leave now and never come back!"
Upon experiencing his new found identity and authority, Gollum says, "We told him to go away, and away he goes! Gone, gone, gone! SMEAGOL IS FREE! " Through Frodo, Gollum is reminded of who he really was and who he really is. It is only when Gollum is deceived concerning his new master that he turns back to his old master. I believe the same is true in relationship to sin as a master and Christ as a liberator from sin.
Smeagol's nature became warped by the ring, and he couldn't find freedom until he received a new master. This is the same in relationship to Christ setting all who believe in Him free from sinning. We must acknowledge the truth: that self-centered desires are our master. We must then HATE self-centered desire as a master (just as Gollum hated the slavery of his ring ruled self.) We must then reject the old master, which is sin, and accept a new master, which is Christ the Lord. In accepting a new master, WE NO LONGER NEED THE OLD MASTER. As Gollum said to his ring ruled self, so we would be able to say to the sin that rules us: "Christ looks after us now. WE DON'T NEED YOU ANY MORE!"
When Gollum realized he had a new master, there was nothing in his "warped ring ruled nature" that kept him from choosing Frodo and refusing Sauron. In the same way, our natures are warped from birth. This is so because Adam listened to the Satan, the deceiver. But our warped natures are not so warped that we cannot accept the freedom Christ offers us. We still have a choice. We can choose or refuse "the ring" of power and self-centered desire. And we can choose or refuse "the red and blue pill".....(To be continued.)
Look at Paul's description of sin in his letter to the Roman Christians:
"Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as
slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves
to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to
righteousness? But
thanks be to God that though you used to be slaves to sin, you
wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."
Romans 6:16-18
In "The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers," and "The Matrix," I see three very good analogies of sin as a master, and the way to freedom from sinning.
The first analogy is in "The Two Towers." There is a scene with Gollum in which he talks to himself about "the one ring." Gollum is a slave to the ring--which tempts all who wear it with DESIRE, and POWER. The ring's master is Sauron--THE DECEIVER...who for me is a kind of Satan figure. So Gollum is ultimately ruled by Sauron when he is ruled by Sauron's ring. He cannot escape this master....until he has the revelation of a NEW master! Upon this realization, he sees that HE NO LONGER NEEDS THE OLD MASTER--THE RING, or SAURON/SATAN/SIN. So what does Gollum do with this realization? He commands his "sinful nature/the side of him enslaved to the ring" to "leave now and never come back!"
Upon experiencing his new found identity and authority, Gollum says, "We told him to go away, and away he goes! Gone, gone, gone! SMEAGOL IS FREE! " Through Frodo, Gollum is reminded of who he really was and who he really is. It is only when Gollum is deceived concerning his new master that he turns back to his old master. I believe the same is true in relationship to sin as a master and Christ as a liberator from sin.
Smeagol's nature became warped by the ring, and he couldn't find freedom until he received a new master. This is the same in relationship to Christ setting all who believe in Him free from sinning. We must acknowledge the truth: that self-centered desires are our master. We must then HATE self-centered desire as a master (just as Gollum hated the slavery of his ring ruled self.) We must then reject the old master, which is sin, and accept a new master, which is Christ the Lord. In accepting a new master, WE NO LONGER NEED THE OLD MASTER. As Gollum said to his ring ruled self, so we would be able to say to the sin that rules us: "Christ looks after us now. WE DON'T NEED YOU ANY MORE!"
When Gollum realized he had a new master, there was nothing in his "warped ring ruled nature" that kept him from choosing Frodo and refusing Sauron. In the same way, our natures are warped from birth. This is so because Adam listened to the Satan, the deceiver. But our warped natures are not so warped that we cannot accept the freedom Christ offers us. We still have a choice. We can choose or refuse "the ring" of power and self-centered desire. And we can choose or refuse "the red and blue pill".....(To be continued.)
Saturday, January 28, 2012
God does not predict the future.
God does not predict the future. He has already experienced it. (This truth was applied on the TV show "Fringe" to "The Observers," on the episode "Forced Perspective?")
I thought about this. The usual thoughts. Free will. God's sovereignty. Etc.
Conclusions?
Yes.
On the night that Jesus was betrayed, He "predicted" the Apostle Peter's denial, and told Peter the prediction: that before a rooster crowed, Peter would deny Jesus three times. Peter denied the Lord's prediction of his denial. Was Peter destined to fulfill the prediction? I don't believe so.
I am free right now to type or stop typing. God has already experienced this. But I find no contradiction in God's experience because of the perfect intimacy in which God knows me. I see it like this.
God sees me, or "perceives my thoughts from afar," as David says in Psalms 139. Again, David says,
"You have searched me and known me. You know my going out and coming in....Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely."
To experience what I will say or think in the future is to experience the totality of what I am saying right now, and thus of what I said yesterday. In other words, who I am now expresses who I was and who I will be. If I am fixed in my intention, then you, the reader, are experiencing my future, right now, as I write. Yet God's experience of me is perfect, infinite, and eternal. What seems a prediction for you and me, being of time and space, is really perfect intimacy for God.
Of course I'm not saying I've got God all figured out, and that there is no mystery for me as far as the Deity goes. I'm saying I can "feel God" on the future thing, to a certain extent, though I can't explain it.
Let's go back to Peter. If Peter's wife, for example, heard Peter's conversation with the Lord that night, assuming she had an intimate knowledge of her husband, she could have said something like this,
"Peter, I feel like you have very good intentions, but I also get the feeling that you are not as resolved to die for Jesus as you think. In fact I get the feeling that if it came down to it, you might actually deny Jesus emphatically!"
Now Peter may have very well become angry with his wife's intuition, denying what she sensed with intensity.
Now apply this the Lord's perfect and intimate connection to Peter. I don't see it as Jesus "reading Peter's mind." I don't see this "looking into the future" thing that we do. I see Jesus knowing Peter perfectly, AND EVERYONE ELSE INVOLVED, INCLUDING THE ROOSTER THAT WOULD CROW THREE TIMES!
Intimate knowledge. Perfectly all knowing intimacy. Not this kind of scientific informational "fortune telling." God's omniscience encompasses the all knowingness of "predicting the future" with 100% accuracy, but I believe it is in the context of intimacy, not mere information.
What are you thinking?
I thought about this. The usual thoughts. Free will. God's sovereignty. Etc.
Conclusions?
Yes.
On the night that Jesus was betrayed, He "predicted" the Apostle Peter's denial, and told Peter the prediction: that before a rooster crowed, Peter would deny Jesus three times. Peter denied the Lord's prediction of his denial. Was Peter destined to fulfill the prediction? I don't believe so.
I am free right now to type or stop typing. God has already experienced this. But I find no contradiction in God's experience because of the perfect intimacy in which God knows me. I see it like this.
God sees me, or "perceives my thoughts from afar," as David says in Psalms 139. Again, David says,
"You have searched me and known me. You know my going out and coming in....Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely."
To experience what I will say or think in the future is to experience the totality of what I am saying right now, and thus of what I said yesterday. In other words, who I am now expresses who I was and who I will be. If I am fixed in my intention, then you, the reader, are experiencing my future, right now, as I write. Yet God's experience of me is perfect, infinite, and eternal. What seems a prediction for you and me, being of time and space, is really perfect intimacy for God.
Of course I'm not saying I've got God all figured out, and that there is no mystery for me as far as the Deity goes. I'm saying I can "feel God" on the future thing, to a certain extent, though I can't explain it.
Let's go back to Peter. If Peter's wife, for example, heard Peter's conversation with the Lord that night, assuming she had an intimate knowledge of her husband, she could have said something like this,
"Peter, I feel like you have very good intentions, but I also get the feeling that you are not as resolved to die for Jesus as you think. In fact I get the feeling that if it came down to it, you might actually deny Jesus emphatically!"
Now Peter may have very well become angry with his wife's intuition, denying what she sensed with intensity.
Now apply this the Lord's perfect and intimate connection to Peter. I don't see it as Jesus "reading Peter's mind." I don't see this "looking into the future" thing that we do. I see Jesus knowing Peter perfectly, AND EVERYONE ELSE INVOLVED, INCLUDING THE ROOSTER THAT WOULD CROW THREE TIMES!
Intimate knowledge. Perfectly all knowing intimacy. Not this kind of scientific informational "fortune telling." God's omniscience encompasses the all knowingness of "predicting the future" with 100% accuracy, but I believe it is in the context of intimacy, not mere information.
What are you thinking?
Friday, January 27, 2012
Why arguing is stupid
Why is arguing stupid?
Some love arguing. Some think arguing is healthy and necessary for intimacy.
This is my definition of arguing:
Verbal combat. Two or more who seek to verbally conquer another by force of will, emotion, or reason, words being the weapon.
How is this healthy or necessary?
Disagreement and discussion can be healthy and necessary. But forcing someone to listen is never necessary, healthy, or even intelligent.
Arguing is stupid because those who argue get locked in.
You've experienced it. You've done it. I've experienced it. I've done it.
It's easy to notice when others do it, a little harder when we do it. (But we DO know when we are doing it.)
You're arguing. A button has been pushed on an issue you refuse to budge on. There comes a point in the argument when you feel it ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to interrupt the one who is arguing with or against you. You talk over her, BUT SHE WON'T STOP TALKING. You YELL. But he won't stop speaking! On and on he goes! She says the same things over and over again! He makes the same points over and over again!
He is LOCKED IN.
She is LOCKED IN.
NEITHER HE NOR SHE IS LISTENING, EVEN TO HIMSELF OR HERSELF!
When someone is locked in, listening, as a whole, as a reality or possibility, ceases. Mental, emotional, and volitional autopilot has kicked in. Why?
Have you ever seen one of those war movies where someone is taken captive? The one taken prisoner is tied up and about to be questioned. If he does not answer the questions asked, or give up information, he will be tortured. So the prisoner keeps saying his name, rank, and military numbers OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
LOCKED IN!
War.
Verbal combat.
Arguing.
Is the man listening to the one who is about to torture him? Absolutely not! Why?
Because he perceives torturer as an enemy, hell bent on taking his freedom and identity.
This is the mindset of verbal combat, of arguing.
The parent, sibling, spouse, or coworker is viewed as an enemy of your identity, hell bent on taking it. And at this moment, this view or opinion or line of reason DEFINES EVERYTHING YOU ARE! SO HELP YOU GOD IF YOU GIVE IN!
SO YOU LOCK IN!
LOCK AND LOAD!!!
It's so stupid! I hate it! It NEVER gets anywhere! Ever! I've never "won" an argument from locking in, and no one has ever "won" an argument when they locked in with me. Ever!
I hate talking over people, and when people talk over me. I hate when a person talks louder and louder, over and over, and I hate doing that. At that moment, I feel weak, not strong. I feel like I'm out of control, not like I'm in control.
It's so stupid!
I can feel how bad it feels to act like that, but I lock in nonetheless!
Pride!
I won't back down! I can't! After all, my very identity is at stake, right!
STUPID!
How do we keep from doing this, ever again?
I read something online that I found to be bordering on genius! It used the analogy of what is necessary for fires, the "fire triangle." Air, something to burn, something to ignite. Take any one of those away, and no fire can happen! Period. It can't!
Now, three things are necessary for "verbal combat"
1. A subject to disagree upon (One considered the very essence of who you are!)
2. An "arguer" (One willing and able to do verbal combat with you on an issue that is your very life!)
3. An "arguee" (One willing to argue back, self-defense if you will.)
Remove one of these, and verbal combat cannot happen. There won't be a motivation to get locked in.
(I can't find the article on arguing to link it. It's one of those articles you read, enjoy, but don't save as a favorite. It was a parenting article. If the one who wrote the article reads this, know that I am indebted to you. Tell me who you are in the comments!)
"But what about discussions?" some one may ask. How can we have healthy disagreements and discussions without getting locked in?
You know when you are about to lock in, or when a topic comes up that triggers you getting locked in. You can tell when someone else is about to lock in. (Now there are times when you stumble unintentionally upon a subject that locks someone in, or when someone does that to you. Either way, what I'm about to say applies.)
The key is our identity. Who are we, really? Are we the point we are trying to make in the argument at the moment? Is that really who we are?
ARE WE OUR "OPINIONS?"
This is a crucial question, especially for us Americans. We consider our identity to be our "liberties."
Freedom of speech
Freedom of expression
Freedom of religion
Freedom of opinion
We can say whatever we want.
No, wait, even better.
We have a RIGHT to say what we want.
No. Better still.
We have a GOD GIVEN RIGHT to think, feel, believe, and say WHATEVER WE WANT. Any one who tries to take these rights is an enemy who must be resisted. Right?
These are "spiritual thoughts," which means I will come to a spiritual solution to getting locked in. It is written,
In the exercise of (God's) will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. James 1:18-20 NASB
There it is people! What do we want?
Some love arguing. Some think arguing is healthy and necessary for intimacy.
This is my definition of arguing:
Verbal combat. Two or more who seek to verbally conquer another by force of will, emotion, or reason, words being the weapon.
How is this healthy or necessary?
Disagreement and discussion can be healthy and necessary. But forcing someone to listen is never necessary, healthy, or even intelligent.
Arguing is stupid because those who argue get locked in.
You've experienced it. You've done it. I've experienced it. I've done it.
It's easy to notice when others do it, a little harder when we do it. (But we DO know when we are doing it.)
You're arguing. A button has been pushed on an issue you refuse to budge on. There comes a point in the argument when you feel it ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to interrupt the one who is arguing with or against you. You talk over her, BUT SHE WON'T STOP TALKING. You YELL. But he won't stop speaking! On and on he goes! She says the same things over and over again! He makes the same points over and over again!
He is LOCKED IN.
She is LOCKED IN.
NEITHER HE NOR SHE IS LISTENING, EVEN TO HIMSELF OR HERSELF!
When someone is locked in, listening, as a whole, as a reality or possibility, ceases. Mental, emotional, and volitional autopilot has kicked in. Why?
Have you ever seen one of those war movies where someone is taken captive? The one taken prisoner is tied up and about to be questioned. If he does not answer the questions asked, or give up information, he will be tortured. So the prisoner keeps saying his name, rank, and military numbers OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
LOCKED IN!
War.
Verbal combat.
Arguing.
Is the man listening to the one who is about to torture him? Absolutely not! Why?
Because he perceives torturer as an enemy, hell bent on taking his freedom and identity.
This is the mindset of verbal combat, of arguing.
The parent, sibling, spouse, or coworker is viewed as an enemy of your identity, hell bent on taking it. And at this moment, this view or opinion or line of reason DEFINES EVERYTHING YOU ARE! SO HELP YOU GOD IF YOU GIVE IN!
SO YOU LOCK IN!
LOCK AND LOAD!!!
It's so stupid! I hate it! It NEVER gets anywhere! Ever! I've never "won" an argument from locking in, and no one has ever "won" an argument when they locked in with me. Ever!
I hate talking over people, and when people talk over me. I hate when a person talks louder and louder, over and over, and I hate doing that. At that moment, I feel weak, not strong. I feel like I'm out of control, not like I'm in control.
It's so stupid!
I can feel how bad it feels to act like that, but I lock in nonetheless!
Pride!
I won't back down! I can't! After all, my very identity is at stake, right!
STUPID!
How do we keep from doing this, ever again?
I read something online that I found to be bordering on genius! It used the analogy of what is necessary for fires, the "fire triangle." Air, something to burn, something to ignite. Take any one of those away, and no fire can happen! Period. It can't!
Now, three things are necessary for "verbal combat"
1. A subject to disagree upon (One considered the very essence of who you are!)
2. An "arguer" (One willing and able to do verbal combat with you on an issue that is your very life!)
3. An "arguee" (One willing to argue back, self-defense if you will.)
Remove one of these, and verbal combat cannot happen. There won't be a motivation to get locked in.
(I can't find the article on arguing to link it. It's one of those articles you read, enjoy, but don't save as a favorite. It was a parenting article. If the one who wrote the article reads this, know that I am indebted to you. Tell me who you are in the comments!)
"But what about discussions?" some one may ask. How can we have healthy disagreements and discussions without getting locked in?
You know when you are about to lock in, or when a topic comes up that triggers you getting locked in. You can tell when someone else is about to lock in. (Now there are times when you stumble unintentionally upon a subject that locks someone in, or when someone does that to you. Either way, what I'm about to say applies.)
The key is our identity. Who are we, really? Are we the point we are trying to make in the argument at the moment? Is that really who we are?
ARE WE OUR "OPINIONS?"
This is a crucial question, especially for us Americans. We consider our identity to be our "liberties."
Freedom of speech
Freedom of expression
Freedom of religion
Freedom of opinion
We can say whatever we want.
No, wait, even better.
We have a RIGHT to say what we want.
No. Better still.
We have a GOD GIVEN RIGHT to think, feel, believe, and say WHATEVER WE WANT. Any one who tries to take these rights is an enemy who must be resisted. Right?
These are "spiritual thoughts," which means I will come to a spiritual solution to getting locked in. It is written,
In the exercise of (God's) will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. James 1:18-20 NASB
There it is people! What do we want?
The anger of man (expressed in defending our opinions)
OR
The righteousness of God (whether that agrees or disagrees with our opinions?)
I mean really.
Really.
What do we want when we are arguing?
We can deceive ourselves and say we want "the righteousness of God." But both parties will claim that as they are yelling over each other and not listening to each other, which shows that NEITHER party wants this, because God has said through His word to be "quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger." THIS is what achieves the righteousness of God, NOT "the anger of man," expressed in verbal combat, in which we are quick to speak, slow to hear (if we hear at all,) and very quick to anger.
The way to stop getting locked in is to stop focusing on ourselves, our opinions, our "rights." We must deny ourselves, according to the Lord Jesus Christ, take up our crosses (which means rejection, suffering, and death) and follow Him. We give up our "liberties" and our so called "identities."
Easier said then done? Why? It is the first thing we are supposed to do when we accept the call to follow Jesus. When His disciples heard the words, "Follow me," they left their families and lives and did exactly that. Along the way they had to let go of many misconceptions about their Messiah and His mission, and Christ made no apologies about that. He didn't make it easy at times. But those who would truly follow Christ had to give up their lives for Him, literally.
Apply this to your favorite political candidate, if you have one. Or apply this to your denomination, if you are a part of one. Take a fundamental political or denominational view that you not only hold, but hold to intensely. Why do you hold to it so vehemently? Is it for Christ? Does Christ need you to argue for him, and to get locked in when you argue? Does Christ need you to defend YOUR candidate or YOUR denomination, keywords being YOURS? Do we ever read, "And Jesus yelled over the Pharisees while the Pharisees yelled over Him, until the Pharisees backed down?" No. We do read that Jesus silenced his enemies, and that "no one dared ask Him any more questions." (Luke 40:39-40) But how did He silence them? Yelling? Being locked in? Not listening any more and saying the same thing, over and over again, louder and louder? NO! He silenced them with truth! Spirit filled, Spirit led truth! This is how He silenced those who challenged Him. We are to follow His example.
But the reason Christ could be filled with and led by the Spirit in silencing His adversaries is found here:
The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?” Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. He
who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who
works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is
nothing false about him.
John 7:15-18 NIV
The Lord Jesus did not speak on His own authority, or seek His own glory. He wasn't expressing His "opinions," nor did He ever seek to do so. He only did what He saw His Father doing, and He only said what His Father wanted Him to say, for His Father's glory, and not His own glory.
When we engage in verbal combat, we speak from our own authority, and for our own glory. As Americans, we speak from the authority of our so called liberty, and for the glory of our "independent" identity. And what is worse, is that we claim that God Himself wants this!
Arguing is stupid because it is based on a false reality, a false identity--a reality and identity that assumes we are the center. We should focus on the true reality--God's kingdom and glory, and our true identity--those who express God's kingdom and glory. When we do this, we may discuss or disagree, but we won't get locked in and refuse to listen.
May we never argue again.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
How to resist sexual temptation right now! (Part 4)
The Lord Jesus said that it is better to enter into heaven with one eye and one hand than to enter into hell with both eyes and hands. He said this in the context of violently and finally removing causes of sin--temptations.
Life and death are on the line. Heaven and hell is on the line.
It is written, "The fear of the Lord is to hate sin."
It is also written, "The fear of the Lord keeps you from sin."
Is she worth hell?
Is he worth the lake of fire?
These questions keep me from sin.
NO sexual temptation, no matter how truly gratifying, no matter how prolonged or intense or real, is worth eternal damnation and judgment. Surely the memory of adultery will be loathsome in hell. Surely the adulteress and the adulterer will hate each other in hell.
But Satan hides this, though he of all beings knows this truth better than anyone.
He gets us to focus on the temporal and ignore the eternal, the visible instead of the invisible, the tangible instead of the intangible, the physical instead of the spiritual, the mortal instead of the immortal.
He makes sin look and feel so good that it seems insatiable and irresistible. As I mentioned in the first article, in the context of sexual sin and temptation, the tempter makes the adulterer and adulteress seem irresistibly alluring. There will be something about him or her that the tempted will not be able to put their finger on. Yes, it may encompass physical beauty or sexuality, BUT IT VERY WELL MAY NOT. There may be NOTHING physically attractive about the person normally, but in this demonic situation, the temptation is undeniable. That hidden power of temptation is of Satan. It must be resisted spiritually through prayer and decree, directly. The tempted one must command Satan and the demons behind the temptation to leave them alone. Many times the feeling of the temptation will immediately lessen. Sometimes it must be resisted firmly until it does lessen.
Now Satan and demons wait for opportunity. They wait until you are already in a weakened spiritual or physical state, which is why Paul says to "be strong in the Lord and the power of His might." The almighty God never weakens or gets tired. If you and I are one with the Lord, then His almighty strength is at our disposal.
Temptations that are sexual are also spiritual. In scripture, many times, idolatry is called adultery. There is a connection. Those who sin sexually do so with their bodies, the temples of God. The body is a place of ecstasy and spirituality as well as physicality and sensuality. It is to be offered as a living sacrifice, and each body part is to be offered to God as an instrument and weapon of righteousness, according to the Apostle Paul. The sex act in marriage is therefore a supreme act of devotion between husband and wife, and between the couple and God. Life itself started on earth after, God created Adam and Eve, through the sex act. The only other life that didn't start this way is the life of Christ Himself. Sex is sacred.
The adulterer worships the adulteress with his body, and she worships him with her body. Satan loves this, for in this way, he and demons receive the worship they so crave. But as it is written,"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies, which are his."
Life and death are on the line. Heaven and hell is on the line.
It is written, "The fear of the Lord is to hate sin."
It is also written, "The fear of the Lord keeps you from sin."
Is she worth hell?
Is he worth the lake of fire?
These questions keep me from sin.
NO sexual temptation, no matter how truly gratifying, no matter how prolonged or intense or real, is worth eternal damnation and judgment. Surely the memory of adultery will be loathsome in hell. Surely the adulteress and the adulterer will hate each other in hell.
But Satan hides this, though he of all beings knows this truth better than anyone.
He gets us to focus on the temporal and ignore the eternal, the visible instead of the invisible, the tangible instead of the intangible, the physical instead of the spiritual, the mortal instead of the immortal.
He makes sin look and feel so good that it seems insatiable and irresistible. As I mentioned in the first article, in the context of sexual sin and temptation, the tempter makes the adulterer and adulteress seem irresistibly alluring. There will be something about him or her that the tempted will not be able to put their finger on. Yes, it may encompass physical beauty or sexuality, BUT IT VERY WELL MAY NOT. There may be NOTHING physically attractive about the person normally, but in this demonic situation, the temptation is undeniable. That hidden power of temptation is of Satan. It must be resisted spiritually through prayer and decree, directly. The tempted one must command Satan and the demons behind the temptation to leave them alone. Many times the feeling of the temptation will immediately lessen. Sometimes it must be resisted firmly until it does lessen.
Now Satan and demons wait for opportunity. They wait until you are already in a weakened spiritual or physical state, which is why Paul says to "be strong in the Lord and the power of His might." The almighty God never weakens or gets tired. If you and I are one with the Lord, then His almighty strength is at our disposal.
Temptations that are sexual are also spiritual. In scripture, many times, idolatry is called adultery. There is a connection. Those who sin sexually do so with their bodies, the temples of God. The body is a place of ecstasy and spirituality as well as physicality and sensuality. It is to be offered as a living sacrifice, and each body part is to be offered to God as an instrument and weapon of righteousness, according to the Apostle Paul. The sex act in marriage is therefore a supreme act of devotion between husband and wife, and between the couple and God. Life itself started on earth after, God created Adam and Eve, through the sex act. The only other life that didn't start this way is the life of Christ Himself. Sex is sacred.
The adulterer worships the adulteress with his body, and she worships him with her body. Satan loves this, for in this way, he and demons receive the worship they so crave. But as it is written,"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies, which are his."
How to resist sexual tempation now! (Part 3)
Imagination is the realm of sexual temptation. Pornography is fueled by fantasy. In the imaginary is infinity, according to our enemy. In your mind you can do whatever you want, be with whomever you want, and have whatever you want. No man or woman can resist you or refuse you. You can do whatever you want to him or her, and he or she will do whatever ever you want him or her to do.
In your mind, you are God.
In your mind, your are Goddess.
Notice.
The mind is the realm that determines whether one is spiritual or fleshly. The mindset. As it is written, "Those who live in accordance with the flesh set their minds on what the flesh desires. Those who live in accordance with the Spirit set their minds on what the Spirit desires."
I've noticed that in times when I let my mind aimlessly drift, I am most easily tempted, sooner or later. But when I focus my mind on spiritual things, I have spiritual feelings and spiritual satisfaction, like I have now as I write. It is written,
"Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy, think about these things."
Notice that Paul makes a list without specifying exactly which thing on the list should be focused on. In other words, as Paul also said, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
We are free to think about whatever spiritual thing we want, whatever interests us, whatever motivates us, whatever we like.
When I do this, I am free from the imaginations that result in sexual temptations. When I don't, I fall, sooner or later, into sinful imaginations. As it is written,
"Those who live in accordance with the flesh set their minds on what the flesh desires. Those who live in accordance with the Spirit set their minds on what the Spirit desires."
Mindset is a choice.
One of the best definitions of mindset I've ever read is on dictionary.com. It defines mindset as a fixed mental disposition that predetermines interpretations and responses to situations. Fixed. Predetermined. Interpretations. Responses. Situations.
So, the spiritual mindset focuses on, interprets, and responds to situations spiritually. Truth is a spiritual thing, for example. The mindset of truth focuses on truth. It's interpretation of situations is true. It's response to situations is true.
But if I am focused on what my flesh desires, living for the fulfillment of those desires, then my entire life will be directed by this passion. It is up to me.
It is up to you.
Your mind is indeed your mind. You can focus it, or refocus it, or refuse to focus it, on whatever you want. To resist the temptation you may be facing right now is to turn your mind from the object of imagination that is the source of temptation, and to turn your eyes and head and body away as well. In the grocery store, for example, I turn magazines over so that I can't see scantily clad women when I'm just trying to buy groceries. I often take a spiritual book with me s0 that I can read while I wait in line. If no scantily clad woman is before my eyes, I feel no passion being aroused. This is obvious. As said before, objects are the source of emotion or passion. Whatever is focused on with the will has a corresponding emotion. If I look at the scantily clad woman on the magazine, I will feel attracted. If I don't look at her and focus on a spiritual topic in a book I am reading, I will feel the feelings associated with the topic. Spiritual focus results in spiritual feelings. Physical focus results in physical feelings. The decision to have a spiritual mindset must be made before going to the grocery store, not at the store, or in the line. This is important. If I am unfocused and unaware, I am prey for the devil. As it is written, "Be self-controlled, be watchful, because your adversary the devil roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters around the world are experiencing what you are experiencing." (My partial paraphrase.)
Another important point to make is this one: moment by moment spirituality is all that is necessary. In other words, as C.S. Lewis wisely states, God only promises grace for right now, the present moment, the daily bread. So don't focus on 21 days. Focus on now. Right now. The temptation you face right now. The mindset of resistance right now. Decide NOW what your mindset is, and thus you decide what your mindset will be when temptation comes.
Jesus said, in so many words, do whatever it takes to resist, no matter how painful or inconvenient. Cutting off a hand and plucking out an eye is as painful and inconvenient as it can get. Jesus said to do this if the right eye or right hand causes sin. He made this a matter of life and death, of heaven and hell. A matter of eternity. A matter of spirituality.
In your mind, you are God.
In your mind, your are Goddess.
Notice.
The mind is the realm that determines whether one is spiritual or fleshly. The mindset. As it is written, "Those who live in accordance with the flesh set their minds on what the flesh desires. Those who live in accordance with the Spirit set their minds on what the Spirit desires."
I've noticed that in times when I let my mind aimlessly drift, I am most easily tempted, sooner or later. But when I focus my mind on spiritual things, I have spiritual feelings and spiritual satisfaction, like I have now as I write. It is written,
"Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy, think about these things."
Notice that Paul makes a list without specifying exactly which thing on the list should be focused on. In other words, as Paul also said, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
We are free to think about whatever spiritual thing we want, whatever interests us, whatever motivates us, whatever we like.
When I do this, I am free from the imaginations that result in sexual temptations. When I don't, I fall, sooner or later, into sinful imaginations. As it is written,
"Those who live in accordance with the flesh set their minds on what the flesh desires. Those who live in accordance with the Spirit set their minds on what the Spirit desires."
Mindset is a choice.
One of the best definitions of mindset I've ever read is on dictionary.com. It defines mindset as a fixed mental disposition that predetermines interpretations and responses to situations. Fixed. Predetermined. Interpretations. Responses. Situations.
So, the spiritual mindset focuses on, interprets, and responds to situations spiritually. Truth is a spiritual thing, for example. The mindset of truth focuses on truth. It's interpretation of situations is true. It's response to situations is true.
But if I am focused on what my flesh desires, living for the fulfillment of those desires, then my entire life will be directed by this passion. It is up to me.
It is up to you.
Your mind is indeed your mind. You can focus it, or refocus it, or refuse to focus it, on whatever you want. To resist the temptation you may be facing right now is to turn your mind from the object of imagination that is the source of temptation, and to turn your eyes and head and body away as well. In the grocery store, for example, I turn magazines over so that I can't see scantily clad women when I'm just trying to buy groceries. I often take a spiritual book with me s0 that I can read while I wait in line. If no scantily clad woman is before my eyes, I feel no passion being aroused. This is obvious. As said before, objects are the source of emotion or passion. Whatever is focused on with the will has a corresponding emotion. If I look at the scantily clad woman on the magazine, I will feel attracted. If I don't look at her and focus on a spiritual topic in a book I am reading, I will feel the feelings associated with the topic. Spiritual focus results in spiritual feelings. Physical focus results in physical feelings. The decision to have a spiritual mindset must be made before going to the grocery store, not at the store, or in the line. This is important. If I am unfocused and unaware, I am prey for the devil. As it is written, "Be self-controlled, be watchful, because your adversary the devil roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters around the world are experiencing what you are experiencing." (My partial paraphrase.)
Another important point to make is this one: moment by moment spirituality is all that is necessary. In other words, as C.S. Lewis wisely states, God only promises grace for right now, the present moment, the daily bread. So don't focus on 21 days. Focus on now. Right now. The temptation you face right now. The mindset of resistance right now. Decide NOW what your mindset is, and thus you decide what your mindset will be when temptation comes.
Jesus said, in so many words, do whatever it takes to resist, no matter how painful or inconvenient. Cutting off a hand and plucking out an eye is as painful and inconvenient as it can get. Jesus said to do this if the right eye or right hand causes sin. He made this a matter of life and death, of heaven and hell. A matter of eternity. A matter of spirituality.
How to resist sexual temptation now! (Part 2)
I started with a brief solution to the problem of present tense sexual temptation--for those who are being tempted right now! I explored spirit, soul, and body as sources of temptation, in that order. I will now reverse the order: body , soul, and spirit.
After all, sex is about the body, though not only the body. It is physical. It is sensual.
Let's start where it starts: physical attraction.
The word of God is very practical in this way. The first example I know of in scripture dealing with the successful resistance of very real and present sexual temptation is in the story of Joseph. Joseph was a handsome and well built young man. Potiphar, an Egyptian ruler, had a wife who was very sexually attracted to Joseph. She made it plain. "Lie with me!" Her words can be put two other ways: "Sleep with me," or more directly, "Have sex with me!" The temptation can't get plainer than that. How did Joseph resist?
He refused.
Pay close attention to that.
There is nothing mysterious or "spiritual" about what he did. He said, and meant, "no!" Why? Because of the goodness of God in his life, and the vileness of the sin of dishonoring God's goodness.
The goodness of God.
The vileness of dishonoring God's goodness.
These two things fueled the Joseph's resistance.
Potiphar's wife tempted him over and over again. And over and over again, Joseph resisted her. He refused to have sex with her or even to be with her. He refused the act, and the opportunity for the act, based upon his honor of God's goodness to him.
Paul said that the Old Testament was written that we may learn from the examples given. Joseph was a man. Potiphar's wife was a woman. In the last temptation Joseph experienced, he ran! As it is written, "Flee sexual immorality." Potiphar's wife would not take "no" for an answer. But Joseph would not change "no" as his answer. She accused Joseph of attempted rape, and Joseph was sentenced to life in an Egyptian dungeon prison. God was with Joseph and rescued him, exalting him as ruler over Egypt, second to Pharaoh alone.
So, how do you resist temptation now?
Refuse.
Refuse to yield.
Refuse to commit the sinful sexual act, or to even allow an opportunity for the act to occur.
Refuse based upon the goodness of God in your life, and how evil it would be to sin in this way.
If you are married, look at God's goodness in giving you a wife or husband. So many are single and want exactly, and even literally, what you have. Some want your husband or your wife. If that doesn't motivate you to be faithful, not much will. How terrible is it to imagine your wife or husband committing adultery, and enjoying it? Isn't' that a nightmarishly horrifying thought? Would you want to bring about this nightmare for your wife or husband, the only one who committed to you, who said "I do" for all of this time? Even if you haven't been married long, you chose to marry this person for a reason. Honor that reason.
If you are unmarried, look at the goodness of God in giving marriage, and sex in marriage. He gives a guarantee of intimacy, physically and spiritually. Fornication and adultery come with no guarantee. Quite the opposite. Can you trust and adulterer or adulteress. By definition, it is certain that you cannot! And fornication, by definition, is no different. The essence of fornication is a lack of commitment. No strings attached. Friendship with "benefits."
But is there really a benefit in commitmentless sex? I mean really? On the surface, the pleasure without the drama of committed relationship seems enticing. But who doesn't want the guarantee of intimacy that comes with marriage? Do boyfriends and girlfriends and partners have this guarantee? Some would say they do. So be it. This is a commitment, and in essence a marriage. There is an assumed promise of faithfulness and exclusiveness. Thus boyfriends and girlfriends think of unfaithfulness as "cheating." (For those who may not know the difference between adultery and fornication, adultery is when a married person has sex outside of his or her marriage, while fornication is sex between two unmarried people.)
Whether married or unmarried, temptation, and situations of temptation, can be flatly refused. God's goodness motivates this, in marriage and outside of marriage. Let God's goodness motivate you to resist, and to enjoy the spouse he gave you, or wait for the spouse he will give you. While you wait, if you are waiting, God makes a way for you to bear your desires. We'll talk more about this later.
After all, sex is about the body, though not only the body. It is physical. It is sensual.
Let's start where it starts: physical attraction.
The word of God is very practical in this way. The first example I know of in scripture dealing with the successful resistance of very real and present sexual temptation is in the story of Joseph. Joseph was a handsome and well built young man. Potiphar, an Egyptian ruler, had a wife who was very sexually attracted to Joseph. She made it plain. "Lie with me!" Her words can be put two other ways: "Sleep with me," or more directly, "Have sex with me!" The temptation can't get plainer than that. How did Joseph resist?
He refused.
Pay close attention to that.
There is nothing mysterious or "spiritual" about what he did. He said, and meant, "no!" Why? Because of the goodness of God in his life, and the vileness of the sin of dishonoring God's goodness.
The goodness of God.
The vileness of dishonoring God's goodness.
These two things fueled the Joseph's resistance.
Potiphar's wife tempted him over and over again. And over and over again, Joseph resisted her. He refused to have sex with her or even to be with her. He refused the act, and the opportunity for the act, based upon his honor of God's goodness to him.
Paul said that the Old Testament was written that we may learn from the examples given. Joseph was a man. Potiphar's wife was a woman. In the last temptation Joseph experienced, he ran! As it is written, "Flee sexual immorality." Potiphar's wife would not take "no" for an answer. But Joseph would not change "no" as his answer. She accused Joseph of attempted rape, and Joseph was sentenced to life in an Egyptian dungeon prison. God was with Joseph and rescued him, exalting him as ruler over Egypt, second to Pharaoh alone.
So, how do you resist temptation now?
Refuse.
Refuse to yield.
Refuse to commit the sinful sexual act, or to even allow an opportunity for the act to occur.
Refuse based upon the goodness of God in your life, and how evil it would be to sin in this way.
If you are married, look at God's goodness in giving you a wife or husband. So many are single and want exactly, and even literally, what you have. Some want your husband or your wife. If that doesn't motivate you to be faithful, not much will. How terrible is it to imagine your wife or husband committing adultery, and enjoying it? Isn't' that a nightmarishly horrifying thought? Would you want to bring about this nightmare for your wife or husband, the only one who committed to you, who said "I do" for all of this time? Even if you haven't been married long, you chose to marry this person for a reason. Honor that reason.
If you are unmarried, look at the goodness of God in giving marriage, and sex in marriage. He gives a guarantee of intimacy, physically and spiritually. Fornication and adultery come with no guarantee. Quite the opposite. Can you trust and adulterer or adulteress. By definition, it is certain that you cannot! And fornication, by definition, is no different. The essence of fornication is a lack of commitment. No strings attached. Friendship with "benefits."
But is there really a benefit in commitmentless sex? I mean really? On the surface, the pleasure without the drama of committed relationship seems enticing. But who doesn't want the guarantee of intimacy that comes with marriage? Do boyfriends and girlfriends and partners have this guarantee? Some would say they do. So be it. This is a commitment, and in essence a marriage. There is an assumed promise of faithfulness and exclusiveness. Thus boyfriends and girlfriends think of unfaithfulness as "cheating." (For those who may not know the difference between adultery and fornication, adultery is when a married person has sex outside of his or her marriage, while fornication is sex between two unmarried people.)
Whether married or unmarried, temptation, and situations of temptation, can be flatly refused. God's goodness motivates this, in marriage and outside of marriage. Let God's goodness motivate you to resist, and to enjoy the spouse he gave you, or wait for the spouse he will give you. While you wait, if you are waiting, God makes a way for you to bear your desires. We'll talk more about this later.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
How to resist sexual temptation now!
How do we resist the sexual temptations that we are experiencing right now? I'll give a quick answer, then a detailed answer in other posts. After all, we need the answer NOW! Here are three scriptures that give the answers:
1. Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee. (Resist spiritual temptation.)
2. Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. (Resist mental and emotional temptation.)
3. Flee sexual immorality! (Resist physical temptation.)
That is the very quick answer. Now I'll give very brief elaboration on the quick answers.
Temptation is spiritual, soulical, and physical. The spirit is the part of us that experiences God and angels, Satan and demons, and the spirits of other humans. It's the realm of intuition, dreams, "vibes," gut feelings.
A spiritual sexual temptation is invisible, intangible, inaudible, and feels insatiable and irresistible. It will have such power that one feels like one CANNOT resist. One CANNOT STOP THINKING about the temptation, the tempter, or the temptress. You feel like you are going to explode with passion. But you can't quite put your finger on exactly why. Yes, the person or situation is arousing, but there is something about the strength of the arousal that eludes you. This is demonic. The essence of every temptation is the submission of or resistance of the will. So with the will, one submits to the Spirit of God, and resists the demonic spirits behind the sexual temptation.
The soul is the realm of mind/imagination, emotions/passion, and will/volitions. If we set our minds on sex, letting sexual desire fuel the purpose of our lives, then temptation will defeat us. If we live to gratify sexual desires (or any physical desires for that matter,) we won't be able to resist. This is why we must set our minds on spiritual things/objects/subjects. Objects create emotions/passions. If you focus on a pleasing physical object, you will feel a corresponding pleasing feelings. A sunset arouses emotions that correspond to seeing a sunset. But if you focus on something a person said that was disrespectful, then you feel angry. The disrespectful person is the object that arouses displeasing feelings.
This is true for spiritual things as well as physical things. If you focus on spiritual things, like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness, you will feel corresponding spiritual feelings. We feel what we think about. We act upon what we focus upon.
Physically, it is as simple as not looking or touching or being in the same vicinity. This is what "flee sexual immorality" means. It means to remove yourself from a situation where sexual temptation is even possible, let alone the actual sexual act. If you are never in the same place as the tempter or temptress, then you cannot see them, smell them, feel them, or be tempted by them in the first place. Now of course there are situations where avoidance is difficult. BUT IT WON'T BE IMPOSSIBLE.
So again.
1. Resist spiritual temptation by prayer.
2. Resist mental/emotional temptation by spiritual focus of the mind by the will.
3. Resist physical temptation by staying completely out of and far away from sexual temptation.
More to come......
1. Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee. (Resist spiritual temptation.)
2. Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. (Resist mental and emotional temptation.)
3. Flee sexual immorality! (Resist physical temptation.)
That is the very quick answer. Now I'll give very brief elaboration on the quick answers.
Temptation is spiritual, soulical, and physical. The spirit is the part of us that experiences God and angels, Satan and demons, and the spirits of other humans. It's the realm of intuition, dreams, "vibes," gut feelings.
A spiritual sexual temptation is invisible, intangible, inaudible, and feels insatiable and irresistible. It will have such power that one feels like one CANNOT resist. One CANNOT STOP THINKING about the temptation, the tempter, or the temptress. You feel like you are going to explode with passion. But you can't quite put your finger on exactly why. Yes, the person or situation is arousing, but there is something about the strength of the arousal that eludes you. This is demonic. The essence of every temptation is the submission of or resistance of the will. So with the will, one submits to the Spirit of God, and resists the demonic spirits behind the sexual temptation.
The soul is the realm of mind/imagination, emotions/passion, and will/volitions. If we set our minds on sex, letting sexual desire fuel the purpose of our lives, then temptation will defeat us. If we live to gratify sexual desires (or any physical desires for that matter,) we won't be able to resist. This is why we must set our minds on spiritual things/objects/subjects. Objects create emotions/passions. If you focus on a pleasing physical object, you will feel a corresponding pleasing feelings. A sunset arouses emotions that correspond to seeing a sunset. But if you focus on something a person said that was disrespectful, then you feel angry. The disrespectful person is the object that arouses displeasing feelings.
This is true for spiritual things as well as physical things. If you focus on spiritual things, like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness, you will feel corresponding spiritual feelings. We feel what we think about. We act upon what we focus upon.
Physically, it is as simple as not looking or touching or being in the same vicinity. This is what "flee sexual immorality" means. It means to remove yourself from a situation where sexual temptation is even possible, let alone the actual sexual act. If you are never in the same place as the tempter or temptress, then you cannot see them, smell them, feel them, or be tempted by them in the first place. Now of course there are situations where avoidance is difficult. BUT IT WON'T BE IMPOSSIBLE.
So again.
1. Resist spiritual temptation by prayer.
2. Resist mental/emotional temptation by spiritual focus of the mind by the will.
3. Resist physical temptation by staying completely out of and far away from sexual temptation.
More to come......
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