All the More Purity 866

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of shadows— of the shadows of trees stretching over the plains that lead to the autumn-decorated hump of Willard Mountain in the distance under a blue sky with a cloud formation that is, in my imagination, looks like Godzilla reaching out towards us. Comes from yours truly, as I stopped long enough to capture this scene as I drove back up Waite Road on my way back to River House on Sunday. I took this photo to capture those autumn colors on the mountain and was going to crop out the rest to highlight that feature, but now that I see all that is going on in this photo, I decided to leave it as is. Well, it's Wednesday again, and I share today's photo because of that hump of Willard Mountain adequately represents the midpoint of another work week. But I love that this photo has shown me that sometimes there is more than meets the eye, and sometimes we think we may— we think we know what we're looking for, only to discover that God has so much more for us. Last night, I facilitated the Freedom in Christ course again and shared with the participants a photo of myself from 2017 where I was tabling for the recovery ministry I was doing at the time, Celebrate Freedom, and it showed me smiling and wearing a Celebrate Freedom t-shirt and what must have been at least an additional 30 pounds of meat. The photo had come up in my Facebook memories from 5 years ago, and when I saw it, uh, I was shocked and marveled over how I had freedom over alcohol and drugs in 2017, um, and was obviously motivated and happy with my freedom enough to go out and table for the— my recovery ministry. Um, but I recall all the things I didn't know that I needed freedom from. That I hadn't achieved yet. When I saw the photo, I laughed at it and said, wow, I really needed more freedom. You know, there was more freedom to be had and I didn't even know it. I shared it with these participants last night to demonstrate that our freedom and our walk with Christ is a progressive thing, that the freedom that they may experience through the Freedom in Christ course can be significant, but that doesn't mean that the freedom they achieve is the only freedom that they can have. I share the photo to encourage them that after they have freedom, after they are finished with the course— oh boy— after they finish the course, they should continue with the life of Christian discipleship to discover all the things that the Lord has for them. In 2017, I had many things that I was in bondage to that I didn't quite realize at the time, but the Lord made me aware of them and gave me the power to overcome them in the years that followed. But I never would have known this freedom and victory that I have today if I just stayed content to stay in recovery ministry and claim that victory and only speak about that. Uh, if I had stayed complacent and stopped walking with the Lord and stopped examining my life, I would have not known the great freedom and victory that I have today. And as I walk with the Lord today in 2022, I know that there's other things that I that I, that I can work on, that I can overcome. Like, like editing the message before I speak it. Anyway, as I've said in the past, after I realized that the Lord was willing to do the impossible in my life, I asked, "What's next, Lord?" As I've continued to walk in the Spirit, I realized that there are no limits to what the Lord can do, and I stopped trying to figure out what was the next thing, a long time ago and just continue to do what I do day to day and remain open for the Lord to lead me in whatever direction he chooses. Now, just to be clear here, I don't get an audible word from the Lord. Although sometimes the promptings in my spirit sure sounds like God, I can't claim that everything I felt I was to do was the Lord's direct commands to me. The truth is that walking in the Spirit can be a process of trial and error because all— although we have the Spirit of God living in us, we also have ideas and dreams of our own that we have carried with us from our pre-Christ existence, or that the world and society values that influences us. And we may think that we can discern God's will perfectly, only to discover that things don't work out like we thought they would, that the things we decide to, quote-unquote, "do for the Lord" may not have been divinely inspired because they weren't successful. But our failures are part of this path of Christian discipleship too. So rather than worrying about whether or not the callings we get are divinely inspired or not, I would advise others to give it a try and see what happens. Rather than not doing something and being— be left always wondering, "What if?" When we step out in faith and try new things, uh, to take on challenges that we struggle with, the Lord can use the process to make us grow into the people He wants us to be. People who live by faith, uh, in the power of the Holy Spirit, rather than people who have it all figured out and only do what is safe. Right now there are lies that we are believing still that we need to stop believing, like, "I don't have faith like blank," or, "Overcoming X isn't the same as overcoming Y," or, "The Lord blessed them with freedom and victory, but he hasn't blessed me," or, "You have to eat," or, "I only eat the food I like," or, "I only do the things I like that and that make me happy. So now, if any of those statements ring a bell or confound you or even anger you, we might have found an area where there is more freedom to be had. I know a person who is constantly making I can't or I don't statements that are subtly defining their lives. I can't really go into detail about what this person is all about, but if I wanted I could give you a very long list of all the things they don't do, can't do, don't like, won't do, or won't try. In my perception of this person, I see a whole lot of resistance, and I don't see any joy. I see someone who looks to other people or circumstances to make them happy, and surprisingly, as much as that seems to be the only thing that occupies their minds what pleases them. Somehow they are continually in a state of discontent, and once you think of, think of applying a solution to their problem that had worked in the past, they shoot it down as something they don't want today or don't feel like today. And instead of telling us what will satisfy them, they hem and haw, expecting others to figure out somehow magically what will make them happy, what they "feel like" today. This person and people like them are slaves to their circumstantial happiness because they are in bondage to their preferences and the resistance they put up to new things and their utter failure to take personal responsibility for themselves. But there is great news here. There is lots of freedom to be won here. If they were so inclined, the Lord could lead them to cast their fears and, uh, cast their fears and anxieties aside. The Lord could shift their focus off of themselves to consider Him and others. The Lord could reveal to them that life is not all about pleasing themselves. So what do we do with somebody like this? You try to encourage them to seek the Lord. And to examine their lives according to what he says is true, and to be open-minded to consider all the things that he would lead them into. And you pray for them. People like this are blinded by the lies of this world and are trapped in a perspective that considers only themselves. They have mirror vision where they only see themselves, and they rarely let anyone else into their frame. I think we all suffer from this to some extent, so none of us gets off this hook. But the remedy to this self-centered ideation is to consider the big picture that the Lord reveals to us and to realize that what the Lord has for us is more than our personal preferences and likes. The Lord has much more than we could ever imagine, but we won't know it unless we pursue His truth and His presence. So that is why I say, "Keep walking and talking with God," because He will tell you what you need to know, and He will invite you to follow Him where you should go. We currently do not know all the lies we are believing. We do not know all that we can be free from or all that we can be free to, but if we keep seeking the Lord and His will for our lives, One day we'll be able to look back and marvel over how far we have come and how much the Lord has given us. So keep going and see and experience all the more that the Lord has in store for you. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verses are Romans 15:5-7. And they say, may God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you, so that God will be given glory. Today's Bible verses encourages us to follow the Lord into the— follow the Lord encourages us who follow the Lord— oh boy— who follow the Lord into the complete harmony that the followers of Jesus Christ can know when we join together to give him praise and glory and accept one another or each other as Christ has accepted each of us. One of the biggest challenges of the Christian walk is being discerning in what the Lord has revealed to us and how we are to interact with others that we know that— now that we know the truth. Others now that we know the truth. Yeah, because we are in Christ, we are sensitive to the Lord's will for our lives to be sanctified and to repent of of sin and worldliness. But while we can have this conviction in our lives, other Christians or our friends and family may not have received the same message. And in order to maintain harmony and unity, unity in the body of Christ, we have— we may have to learn to use that conviction to transform us and be accepting of our brothers and sisters in Christ who don't seem to be there just yet. And we have to be even more careful with God's truth with our unsaved loved ones. I haven't been discerning, and in my zeal to share the gospel, I have said some pretty harsh things that were true but somehow didn't lead people to Christ or to a deeper relationship with God. Turns out I am not the Holy Spirit, and I have learned that his job is not my job. And while I speak the truth in love when I feel his leading, I have learned to get out of his way. When we gather as a church, I am not to judge my brother by their supposed sins and offer unsolicited advice on how they can grow. As today's verse says, we are to come together and accept one another in peace as Christ has accepted us and should concern ourselves with giving God praise and glory. That's what the corporate gathering is for.— to praise the Lord and to encourage one another to keep in the faith. So accept others, warts and all. Encourage them to follow the Lord and let the Holy Spirit do His work. But be ready in case He calls you into service to help someone in their walk. As always, I invite all to go to M.t. Clark.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Discipleship, and we're still in the visible church community section under Matthew 5, basically finishing up the salt of the earth and, and, and showing how we are the light of the world. So if you want to see how Bonhoeffer talks about those aspects from Matthew 5, Go to mtforchrist.org and you'll see that resource at today's— at the bottom of today's blog post. And also at the today's end of today's blog post, as always, there's a bunch of links to our podcast, to our YouTube channel, and encouragement to join our Victory Over the Darkness: The Bondage Breaker and Freedom of Christ series of discipleship classes via the podcast. As always, I offer the materials that I used in 2021, um, to anybody who wants them. All you have to do is email me at mtforchrist247@gmail.com and I'll send you the material, the materials via email, um, for those classes. So if you want to grow in your faith, you know, or share your progress or be encouraged, you can email me at mtforchrist247@gmail.com. Ah, it's Wednesday, and I don't know, it's another day, another day of work, another day of increased healing. I'm recovering from my fall quite well. Another day, another complete workout done, and the Lord is good. And I'm very humbled at the fact that, that I wasn't seriously injured when I fell at work. So very happy about that, and I realize it and appreciate it more and more each day as I reflect on it. So I'm very— and I'm super happy about all the freedom I have from, you know, from my pre-Christ existence to today. Freedom over alcohol and drugs, sexual immorality, depression, anxiety, and anger. You know, I'm not a perfect person, but I'm no way in the person I used to be. In all those areas before. And I didn't know all those things were possible before, before coming to Christ. I thought those things just sort of defined who I was. I didn't realize they were a problem as much as who, you know, my identity. But Christ gives us a new identity when we come to him, and he gives us the power to overcome. But a lot of people come to Christ and don't realize that there's more that he has in store for you, like freedom and victory, overcoming the things that upset us and make us ill. Um, you know, he has more than our personal preferences. Um, you know, we're not defined by what we like and what we don't like. Um, we're defined by what God says we are, and We're made in His image, and if we focus on the things of this world to define us, you know, we're living less than what God has for us, and He has more for us. I just consider our culture and all the different genres of entertainment and things like sports teams, and I'm a cowboy, or I'm into rap, or whatever. Is that What defines you? Is that all that you have for yourself? You know, these are the things. What does God say about you? Where does Christ come into all of that? Into your fashion, into your brands, into the TV shows you watch. Where's Jesus in that? If you're defining yourself by a bunch of stuff you like, like some NASCAR driver who's wearing different sponsors all over his his outfit. Um, you're— it's a false identity. It's a lie, and, uh, it's not who you are, and it certainly won't define where you go, um, after you're called into eternity. Christ has the answers for that, and Christ will define where you go. If you reject him, you reject his presence. And, you know, we have to let people know this. I just open their eyes. And if this, you know, and the things that we take for granted, um, they trip us up and they keep us in bondage and things. So we have to examine our experience and see, maybe everything I believe isn't necessarily true like I think it is. So keep walking, talking with God, and, you know, examine that. As we start another day, uh, let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. We thank you so much for all that you've given us all that you set us free from. Lord, we pray for anyone listening today that you bless them with your divine favor and grace, that you would be, be with them in their struggles and lead them in the way they should go. Lord, as always, we pray for you to go before us, open our eyes to all the things that you have for us to see and to lead us into the things you would have us do, as we only want to do your will and we only want to represent your kingdom here on earth. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.