Quiet your heart.
Be still.
And HEAR
HIM.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6smGew7dGto
Ladies of Hope.... God is calling us deeper.
Friday, August 23, 2013
to LISTEN... is good.
Quiet your heart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6smGew7dGto
Ladies of Hope.... God is calling us deeper.
MY cute little collector (i)doll ON THE SHELF…is really a big hairy monster
We spoke of consecration: ridding ourselves of direct sin
–both inward and outward. He has called us deeper. See Joshua chapter 3 again.
But how do we really
get rid of those sins when they keep coming back up…and WHY do they keep coming
back up? Could it be that they are more than just an “act”…could it be that
they are an actual stronghold that we have set up either consciously or
subconsciously? Could it be that these sins are not just mere sins… but rather
the manifestations of an idol dwelling in our being? Could it be that these
sins that feel like habits came from a deeper root…that actually CAN be gotten
rid of- completely?
The answer is- yes…the hardest part is……we already knew
that… sort of
Our youth pastor Daniel Larimore spoke of idols
recently…listen to his message “Idols: The Heart of Every Issue” before we begin to look deeper into this
idea as it applies to us the women of Blessed Hope Halifax.
As I pondered the idea of an idol… I circled the concept many
times. What IF an idol got placed on the shelf of my heart not by my hands but
by my heart itself…sitting like one of those old dolls I never unwrapped
because it was a collector and now it serves to only collect dust. Jeremiah tells
us we can’t know what our heart is up to…and we understand we must fully rely
on the Lord to keep it under control. What if, in my bleak past where
sanctification was only just a start …something was allowed a presence? What if
an idol sits neglected- yet still taking up residency…leaving me…”half
consecrated” if you will. So now, through the dust I wade…asking God “please
make us holy, please make me holy. We want to see your wonders. Part the sea
for us just like you did for the Israelites. Not to us, not for us, but for Your
Name”…
You know when we pray that- He comes… He ALWAYS COMES…
Hosea 6:1-3 “..He will come like the rain..”
I began my search with a word study. Because if I’m going to
kick out the idols, I need to know what they look like. And this developed into our Tuesday night
lesson for the week.
Idolatry – excessive
devotion
Excessive-
surplus of something or intemperance
Intemperance- lack of moderation
or…. Habitual
** Wait? Idolatry= Habitual… an idol
is a habit?
Idol – a false god, an object of
passionate devotion, an image
Image- a likeness or imitation of a person or a thing, a
picture of an object formed by a device, mental picture or conception
** Hold up Mr. Webster… your word definitions are
painting a picture of idols that doesn’t look like a bronze
little Buddha.
Habit-a settled or regular
tendency or practice, esp. one that is hard to give up (more depth on the
habitual concept later)
First
let’s focus on this part---
---or
something heavy…. A burden.
Have you ever noticed…that we STAY burdened a lot. As women, we just
are.We are burdened and then we worry over the burden. And WHERE does this
reside? In our minds.
“Oops I gossiped AGAIN”… “Oh my temper!” … “Where did that come from?”…
over and over again we mess up and are burdened by our mess up. AND the burdens pile burden upon burden…
The to-do list is too long, the to-do list has things we don’t know how
to do, the to-do list needs more funds, is this the RIGHT to-do list, did I
leave something off the to-do list, the to-do list has things that require
another set of hands, where is that
other set of hands?
“Did I do that right, can I do this right, did I say that right will this work out, when, what, where, why, how, who…stop thinking that, stop thinking that, stop worrying, rest, abide, trust…”
we preach to ourselves and quote our
Scriptures-
“Phil 4-be anxious for nothing!! Col 3-set your mind on Christ!! Ps 46- Cease striving and know I am God!! I believe this…why won’t it go away!”
we pray… until another day has
come and gone… and a new itinerary is on the table. And the burdensome cycle
starts all over again.
Could we be practicing idolatry in our thought life…in our everyday
routine?
Could we be practicing a form of idolatry in the way we choose to pray
even?
Is idolatry seeping over into our practices and routines so that we
aren’t even aware that it is there?
Read Isaiah 46 the whole thing.
Now look…
46 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts,
and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the
weary beast.
2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the
burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
Any effort we make to carry our burdens…. WILL grow weak… AND WILL
go into captivity. We are being held hostage by some of our burdens…. And they
are idols! Even things we don’t want!
We take our little burden
(idol-habit)..hoist it up onto the beast.. our brain working to solve the issue
(even with Scripture!)..and go walking down the road. And the beast fails, and
we are captive yet again to what feels like failure.
Burden- load, care, responsibility,
something oppressive
Worry – to shake and mangle with the teeth, anxious, upset
Our idols
ARE the burdens and our idols CREATE other burdens. Our burdens cause worry…and
worry is mangling us… right into slavery.
Our burdens
are too heavy to carry…. Mangled we have no strength even if we try.
Isaiah 46….
Look again
3 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
He
carries the whole thing… the whole caravan…the idol, the burden, the worry… and
He saves it!
12 “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from righteousness:
13 I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay
you who are far from righteousness:
13 I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay
HE hold you.
HE holds your sin. HE holds the to-do list. HE holds the question.
HE
IDENTIFIES the idol. HE takes down the idol. HE carries the idol away. HE
carries us out of captivity. HE makes us righteous.
HE MAKES US RIGHTEOUS…and complete
…..but…we
already knew that right.
So. Where’s
the action.
Read
Galatians 2:20 and Matthew 11:28-29 and Isaiah 46:12-13
Deny – to declare untrue, to refuse to
recognize or acknowledge, to reject as false
…. Deny your
rights to your thoughts, deny your rights to your heart, to your
wants to your needs, to your rights to your hopes, your plans, your capabilities.
Deny your
ability to solve anything. Deny your ability to be right… to stand before Him
..righteous...
Because you
cannot.
Deny yourself.
Fast- to abstain.
…. Fast from
the physical representations of the burden. Fast from the “band aids” you put
on the burden. Fast from the conceptual products of the burden.
Fast and
pray.
WAIT.
While HE
removes the idol.
Galatians
2:20, Luke 9:23-25, Matthew 11:28-30, Ephesians 2:4-10, Exodus 14:14, Psalm
46:10, Joshua 3:5, Phil. 1:6
Curious how
we would come to this….when a month ago the Lord laid on my heart to do “A Call
to Die” as our Fall study… it is a 40 day fast.
Our Savior
and Friend is at work
KOKO ladies!
TAKE IT OFF
Remember....
Joshua 3:5 Then Joshua said to the
people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among
you.”
con·se·crate
/ˈkänsiˌkrāt/
Verb
|
||
Synonyms
|
LOVE FOR GOD CHANGES US--- WHEN WE
ENCOUNTER THE LOVE OF GOD WE ARE NEVER THE SAME…and we must press on…PRESSING
ON IS AN ACTIVE CHOICE.
Ephesians 4
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk
worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing
one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one
hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and
in you all.
7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure
of the gift of Christ.
8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first
into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all
heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge
of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning
craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all
things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by
that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the
measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself
in love.
17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth
walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life
of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their
heart:
19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto
lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But ye have not so learned Christ;
21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as
the truth is in Jesus:
22 That ye put off
concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to
the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true
holiness.
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his
neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil.
28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour,
working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him
that needeth.
29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that
which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the
hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto
the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil
speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
The Put Off Put On Principle:
The word “put” is in the active present tense
We don’t wake up with the mind of Christ. We don’t leave work with
it.
We actively make choices to put it on…and further more we actively
must take off the other….
BASICALLY WE GOTTA GET UNDRESSED!
I think a lot of times we find
ourselves “failing” as good Christians because we forget that He gave us new
clothes. We think He just wants us to take ours off and leave us naked. But
that isn’t true. Look at Ez 36-clothed and adorned and 2 Pet 1:3- everything we
need.
In Joshua 3…God was telling the people “completely undress
yourself before me and let me redress you so that you are perfectly prepared
for what I WANT to do.”
God has a work He wants
to do… but we will MISS it with our SIN in the way.
(Read Ezekiel 36)
WRITE IT
OUT!
Go through the following lists and translate them to your own life
to specific situations. Do any of these words or phrases show up in your life,
heart and mind? What do you need to put off and what can you replace it with? Get
practical and use the WORD as your guide. Take TIME on this and be serious
about it. Pray Psalm 51.
-former conversation the old man
-corruption
-deceitful lusts
- lying
- wrath
- stealing
- corrupt communication
- grieve not the holy Spirit of God
- bitterness
AT THE WATER’S EDGE
….This was an amazing night at Ladies of Hope…. We wish you
could have been there. But my comfort is that the Word of God is ALIVE… read
it…READ IT…and saturate yourself in it! My hope is that just as HE prayed for
us in John 17 that we be one…we would be one in our understanding of the
powerful truths that come from this story in Joshua 3
Read Joshua ch. 3
Notice some key phrases in this passage-
“…for you have not passed this way before..”God was commissioning the people to pass through a way they had not approached before (they needed to cross the Jordan river). He knew they would need Him fully to lead them through. He knew His direct presence was their only means of escape… they needed full dependence.
“Consecrate yourselves , for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you”
This is the command the Lord gave Joshua to tell the people
in order that they be ready to cross into the Promised Land… He is specific in
His instructions… very specific.
CONSECRATE- to induct into office, to make or declare
sacred, to devote solemnly to a purpose
The Lord wants us solely devoted to Him… stripped of
ourselves… so that He can do a mighty act…
IN US
THROUGHT US
AROUND US
What does it look like to consecrate….what recognition must
I have about myself?
--- Who am I? ---- only
a conduit of the gospel
CONDUIT- a
channel for conveying fluid. A tube or trough for protecting electric wires or
cables. A means of transmitting or distributing
·
I am a soldier in His army
-a soldier does ONLY what his captain
commands
·
I have been called On a SACRED
mission
-the missionary is set apart for
worship and service of the deity
·
My commitment must be solemn
-solemn
means highly serious…. There are SOUL at stake! The KINGDOM is our aim
Obedience to the Lord is ultimately a
matter of life and death!
Romans 8:6-8
There is no room and no time for anything else to lead the
way in our lives other than the presence of God… to see His presence.. we must
CONSECRATE.
The people were at the water’s edge… it was all or nothing…
they had NEED of solemnly committing to do what He said in order to cross the
raging waters.
They NEEDED
…surrender to Him and …FAITH…
Read Joshua 3 again…
Consecrate
Now place your feet IN
the water
“…and Joshua said…here is how you will know that the living God is among you..” vs10
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