Destroying the high and lofty opinions that set themselves against the knowledge of God
Sunday, I preached on confronting the lies which satan uses to wield power over our wills. I briefly covered a number of different situations in which satan is named as the chief antagonist in the story. I began by looking at the fall of Adam and Eve and the manner in which satan drew Eve, and then Adam into “agreement” with him and then induced them to act contrary to God’s will. The lies which satan use to woo them are three - (1) “Has God said” (does God really mean what he says). (2) Is the any real reason to fear God? (3) Isn’t God really unfair? I talked about 7 or 8 other stories in which we see satan working to draw a person into a situation where that person concedes to a falsehood and then acts upon the basis of a lie.
The enemy of our soul wants to persuade us that God isn’t fair, or that he doesn’t really watch out for us, or that our various felt needs are so powerful that we simply must meet them in whatever way we possibly can. Bondage to sinful patterns comes in part as a result of repeated choices based on lies about the way in which the world works. If I don’t give as I should it is ultimately because I don’t trust God’s provision. If I fall into sexual sin its because I don’t believe that God’s ways really are better. If I compromise my faith in order to fit into the workplace, or school or whatever - its because I really don’t believe that in God’s presence is the fulness of joy. No freedom will come without this first step of admitting the truth.
However, let me try and give some examples. Let take the issue of money. Suppose you were convicted about tithing. Let suppose as well that the manner in which you live your life, in terms of indebtedness seem to make it impossible to break out of this dilemma. How does a person go about repenting? If only so much comes in, and all of it goes out to cover bills how can a person ever break free?
First, of course is the necessity to face that you are over extended. How can there ever be any resolution or change if we insist on burying our head in the sand? This is a big step. I believe it is important, and even necessary to tell someone about this problem. A person could come to an elder, or seek out a trusted brother or sister in Jesus and just say outloud to that person - “I have a problem” (and then share what it is). This is a beginning. It helps to actually look at what the scriptures teach about money. For this there is no shortage of material. My very favorite, and quite honestly a life-changing book for me is Randy Alcorn’s “Money, Possessions and Eternity.” If you are serious about making a change in your life relative to money and stewardship it isn’t too much to take on reading this book.
Next, I recommend that you find a person with expertise in budgeting money. If you are going to break the stronghold of those lies that have enslaved you in this area of your life then you need a plan that will allow you to bring your finances into obedience to Jesus. There are plenty of people at LOG who can help you, and there are good folks in this area who are equally capable of lending assistance. In my next blog entry I will talk at length about some other examples of how to go about breaking the power of some of these lies which enslave. Paul wrote - it is for freedom sake that He has set us free. Think about the sentiment expressed by that concept. God really does want human beings to live in freedom. He wants them to know the joy of not having their lives controlled by money, sex, need for approval, or any other lessor thing. The One who made us knows that we were made to find our greatest fulfillment and delight in the blessedness which comes from submitting our hearts to the One who loves us dearly. More to follow in the next few days…