FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
Heb
12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and
the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race
that is set before us,
2 Looking
unto Yahushua the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the
right hand of the throne of IAUE.
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners
against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
4 Ye have
not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Last week’s post ended with this comment:
We have the choice to remain
ignorant of the Father’s will and continue
sinning with reckless abandon; or we
may choose to subject our thought
life to His control and reshaping so
we can learn how to recognize and
obey his good and acceptable and
perfect will.
Let us not forget: Sin, by definition, is disobedience to the will of IAUE. Our lives are defined by our choices
either to obey or to disobey the will of IAUE.
Man may desire to change the world into a better more peaceful
place. He may dedicate himself to humanitarian
causes, and even lay down his life for the poor, sick and suffering; but none
of these objectives matter if they are not done in obedience to the will of
IAUE. The sacrifice of Yahushua was not
made to give men and woman with rebellious hearts a place to enjoy eternity. It was made to provide the means to change men’s
heart, to restore man to his divine purpose, which is to do the will of IAUE.
We stated two weeks
ago that there are three primary reasons why we who are disciples still sin,
why we still do not do the will of IAUE. We covered the second reason last
week. Today we will discuss the third reason:
3. Our lives have
been so consistently disobedient to the will of IAUE that we have allowed the
influence of demonic spirits into our life that are now generating almost
automatic behavioral responses to certain “triggers” in our life.
Let me begin this
discussion by admitting that my understanding of this 3rd reason is
drawn largely from my experience with the dealings of IAUE and from forty years
of personal experience. Neither of these
sources will find “proof texts” in the Scripture. It is like Paul told the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 7:12 But to the rest speak I, not IAUE…
25 Now concerning virgins
I have no commandment of IAUE: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath
obtained mercy of IAUE to be faithful.
40 …and I think also that I have the Spirit of IAUE.
As a teacher, I am
always wary of the presentation of any so-called “Truth” if I cannot find a
basis for it in Scripture; however, most of our day to day obediences to IAUE
are based upon hearing and obeying His voice speaking to our hearts things
which cannot be found verbatim in some book of the Old or New Testament. James tells us in James 3:1 that teachers are
judged more strictly than others; and I am always mindful of that when I share things
I have been taught by the Spirit of IAUE; so with that having been said, let’s
proceed
to that which I believe I have obtained mercy to speak.
Our lives have been so consistently disobedient to the will
of IAUE that we have allowed the influence of demonic spirits into our life
that are now generating almost automatic behavioral responses to certain
“triggers” in our life.
It might come as a
surprise to many that the word “demon” (or “demons”) does not appear in the New
Testament after the book of John. It is not
in Acts, nor the epistles of Paul, Peter, Jude or John. In Acts we do find references to “evil spirits”
and a “spirit of python,” but none of those references apply to our discussion
today.
Many in the church,
today, believe there is a demon around every corner and under every rock. Everything that goes “wrong” or is unpleasant
in their lives gets blamed on the devil or on demons. The masses have no regard for doing the will
of IAUE because they have responded to a false gospel and there is no fear of
IAUE in their eyes; consequently, they are unaware that their self–willed
lives are what produce most of the
difficulties that assail their lives.
Galatians 5:19 Now the
works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft,
hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders,
drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I
have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not
inherit the kingdom of Elohim.
Through the years,
I have heard many believers attribute such actions to demonic spirits; but this
passage says this is what the flesh
does, not demons. These are the kind of
behaviors that “the law of sin in the flesh” in every single person on the
planet will gravitate toward if yielded to sufficiently. Having said that, let us consider some of the
items on this list.
Idolatry, witchcraft, - We can quite readily see that there is a spiritual element involved
with these two. In fact both
idolatry and witchcraft directly involve an association with evil spirits.
Imagine someone who has trusted in Yahushua committing idolatry or
witchcraft. How does such a person
arrive at such activity? It is only by a
persistent commitment to disobey
the will of IAUE in order to gratify the lusts of the flesh. Sin is pleasurable for a season; and our
concern for the consequences of sin can
be minimized and rationalized in our minds, especially when we are not actively working on having our minds renewed. This
passage of Paul to the Galatians began with this comment:
Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in
the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the
flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these
are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye
would.
The flesh considers the Spirit its enemy and
wars against it. The flesh does not fight
fair. It is not beyond drawing upon
every fear and anxiety, pride and emotional wounding, and childhood or adult program
we have written in our hearts to cope with life’s unpleasant experiences. The
flesh will twist and turn every motive and intention just to get its way; and
it will reward the compliant with pleasure, albeit briefly. It can never truly satisfy or else it will
never have you return to fulfill its desire. So, understand that when the Scriptures exhort
us to walk in the Spirit and to have our minds renewed to understand the good,
acceptable and perfect will of IAUE, it does so to win this battle. The Spirit can truly satisfy, eternally; but
the flesh can only offer the illusion of satisfaction. What it really provides is an addiction; and
that is where the really big problems begin.
When we engage in repetitious sinning (read, “disobeying
IAUE”), we are manifesting a
predisposition, a choice, to fulfill the lusts of the flesh and thereby dishonor
the sacred blood that was shed by Yahushua to rescue us from that very
lifestyle. Make no mistake, not only do
idolatry and witchcraft have a spiritual component to them, so also do: adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,
heresies, envyings,
murders, drunkenness and revellings. The nature of every item in this list is the
same. Each of these behaviors war
against the Spirit of IAUE; and they will seek reinforcement from outside
resources to sustain their victory against the Spirit. This is where demonic
involvement comes into play.
Romans
6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to
obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of
obedience unto righteousness?
The Scriptures state plainly that we are
going to sin even after becoming a disciple of Yahushua; but our lives as
disciples are to be marked by a purpose of heart to cleave to the Master and to
do the will of IAUE. When we fail, and
disobey His will, we have an advocate with the Father who can restore us from our
temporary waywardness. When our
departure from the Father’s will was a manifestation of either a moment of
weakness or an unrenewed mind, our restoration is a simple process because our
true desire is to do His will; however, when our disobedience is from
repetitious behavior because our will is in union with the flesh, we have given
over ground in our lives to other spiritual masters. No man can serve two
masters.
Think of anyone you know who has “anger
issues.” They manifest anger at the
slightest provocation. They do not contemplate
a reason why they should be angry, they just are. The anger is automatic, triggered by any
circumstance or opportunity to manifest.
Consider those given to sexual promiscuity. Every interaction with the opposite sex is
perceived in a sexual context. They don’t contemplate a rational reason to
think sexually. It is automatic. When sinful
behavior becomes automatic, triggered by any opportunity to manifest, you can
be confident that the spiritual masters to whom you have yielded yourselves
servants to obey are in participation.
What is the remedy to this problem?
Galatians 5:24 And they that are Messiah’s have crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts.
Our will must be broken. This occurs when we
respond to the TRUE gospel message, which begins with, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Genuine repentance breaks the will, in the
same way that a cowboy breaks a wild stallion to make him useful to him. The stallion no longer lives to satisfy its
own will. It exists to serve the will of
the one to whom it has yielded.
We must yield our lives, our wills, to
IAUE. If we do not, we will yield them
to another master. We might think that we
are not yielding to anyone but ourselves; but after becoming a new creature in
Messiah Yahushua, when we yield to the lusts of the flesh, we are yielding to
something that serves the enemy of our souls; and in so doing, we ultimately yield
ourselves to the mastery of demonic spirits.
Once we have yielded ground to demonic spirits in our lives, we must
reclaim that ground for a different master in order to experience freedom from
the predisposition to sin, the triggered behavior, created in our lives by their
wicked influence.
It all boils down to the Father’s will. We were created to do it.
Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance
of the will of IAUE.
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