Wow, It Sure Sounded Real Good to Me

At the time, it really sounded good, but it just didn't work out that way for me.

Proverbs 14: 11-13
Proverbs 16: 24-26

Why do we as Christians struggle daily with sin? Every day Christians fight with the sinful nature to lie, cheat, steal and engage in all manner of sexual immorality. Haven’t you ever had the urge to… (I’ll let you finish the sentence). The voices in your head keep telling you, that “it will be alright just this one time.” Your desire takes over, you lose all your self control, and now you’re in deep trouble. What happened?

Unfortunately, when we get saved we are not totally delivered. Salvation is a process. It begins with justification. We are justified by Christ when we accept Jesus as our Savior and the Lord of our life. Justification restores our standing with God. Jesus cleanses us from the penalty of sin, so that, we may stand righteously before the throne of God.

Jesus then begins the work of sanctification through the power of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification frees us from the power of sin in our life. When we accept Jesus Christ as Savior, we receive the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, and our Teacher. The Holy Spirit works within us, to teach, train and eliminate the power of sin in our lives. The Holy Spirit can and will remove sin from our lives, if we yield to His power and presence. We accept Christ once, but we must yield control of our lives daily to the Holy Spirit.

What may seem right to our carnal mind is usually contradictory to the ways of God. If you accept Jesus as Lord, then you must obey his commandments. In order to obey the commands, you must first read the orders. These orders and commands are found in the Bible. Reading and Studying the Bible is the best offence to the attacks of the sinful nature. The Bible teaches us that we must hide God’s Word in our hearts that we might not sin against Him.

Studying God’s Word prepares us to answer the sinful nature, with the ways of God, rather than the ways of man. Our ways will seem right to us because they satisfy our natural desires and the lusts of our flesh. God’s Word keeps us focused upon those things that are right and pure. Sin will always flee from the presence of God. Sin cannot stand in His Light. Whenever you shine the Light of God upon sin it will flee from you. Don’t believe me, try God for yourself.

When we try to satisfy our own desires, we will always get ourselves into trouble. Self indulgence is the “landmark sign” of the ways of man. The Bible teaches us that we must first seek the kingdom of God, and His Righteousness, and then all of these other desires of the hearts shall be added unto you. There are 2 important principles to always remember, number 1,”Only Seek God and His Righteousness”. The scripture doesn’t say to seek God, and then seek the desires of your heart. Number 2, Your Blessing is Given to You by God. The satisfaction of your desire is given to you by God, in response to your obedience to his commandments.

If you seek to satisfy your own desires, rather than to “wait upon the Lord”, then what you called a blessing will become a curse. It may look like a blessing, it may sound good, but if God didn’t give it to you, then you might want to let it go. I can’t tell you how you know the difference. But just like being “in love”, no one can tell you, you just know. You know when it’s from God, or when you worked it out on your own, and you were just trying to give God the credit. We dishonor God when we try to put our mess off on Him, in order to cover up our disobedience.

If you truly love Jesus, then obey his commands. Pray continually, read and study God’s word. Yield to the Holy Spirit in your daily living by praising and honoring God through your daily walk. The struggles with temptation may never leave you until you are glorified at the Day of Judgment, but if you allow the Holy Spirit to fight your battles, then you will have a winning record.

Jesus is coming again!

J.W.O.S.
Spread the Word.

Rev. Brian K. Shobe