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111Ki015.mp3
Commentary
1 Kings 15
Remnants Of Sin
Today's children are tomorrows leaders. Would you buy a house with all of your life savings, then pour motor oil all over the driveway? Have you ever, as a child, said, "when I grow up, I want to be a prisoner"? What about the tiny, seemingly unnoticeable sin, such as a Budda statue by the swimming pool, or a beverage stein on top of the refrigerator? Though your heart be pure for God, is there sin somewhere, forgotten and left to remain, only to continue its ill-desired effect? Perhaps the subtitle of this chapter should be 'Cleaning the Closet'. The cleaning don't end with surface dust removal. Even after we get our lives to the peak of God's will, what then shall we do?
Today, we are marching in a formation of Christian soldiers, formed by wayward leaders of yesterdays wickedness. Our heart is perfect for God, yet there is still handicap upon our heroic champions. Why is this thing so? Did we sin, or is it because of the sin of our fathers? Whatever the case, the glory of the Lord is revealed as we overcome all that used to overcome us. In our own strength, we are not the overcommers that we might boast to be. We can be very content knowing that we have succeeded where we had always before fallen short. There is yet that which remains... the remnants of sin.
The single-most difficult thing I have ever had to do is thoroughly confess, before God and man, some of the deepest, darkest sins that I have ever taken part in. I have experienced the depths of humiliation. I have been rejected by my closest earthly friend. Sure, at the time of the confession, I felt the breakthrough, the unforgettable freedom of sin falling from my breastplate like stubble. I am forever free from that which used to bind me to stagnancy. There are still scars on my body from the gang wars. There is still words in my vocabulary that don't sound like a Christian sometimes. There are still "attitudes", or moments of provoked anger. What shall I do?
God will make all of our crooked ways straight and all of our rough places plain. If we exalt ourselves, He will bring us low. If we are low, He will raise us up. God wants to bring balance to our lives, and He will do it... just for you! It don't seem like there is enough time in one lifetime to complete a man who before knew only sin. Today is accelerated. Time seems to have been put in "fast-forward" as we advance more rapidly in all that we do. It's all in your mind. It's all in your mind.
What I want to say here, is that no matter where you have come from and how long the damage has gone unattended to... no matter how extensive the physical or mental calamity, God will begin to fix you the very moment you ask Him into your life. Scars and all, God will make you a complete and perfect man (or woman)... all in THIS lifetime! It begins in your mind. Once again, I refer back to Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
We are not expected to do the cleaning, nor should we. Our job is to
invite God's will into our lives by studying his Word, and by training
our thoughts to "think on these things (Philippians 4:8). Let the
cleaning and transformation begin!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010 - 6:30 AM
