Dropping Everything to Follow Him – A Small Matter of Obedience - Purity 1543

Welcome to the MT for Christ 24/7 podcast. I am M.t. Clark, and this is today's photo. To see today's photo, go to mtforchrist.com or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter, or watch us on YouTube. Good morning. Well, it is Tuesday, and it is the last day of the year 2024, and I am rejoicing because my wife Tammy Lynn has gifted me with a return visit to a secluded cabin near Saranac Lake to celebrate the coming of 2025 and our third wedding anniversary. Uh, I may not get everything right when I try to walk in the spirit, but I know I did the right thing when I listened to my spirit's intuition that told me to make Tammy Lynn my wife and to do so as soon as possible back in late summer of 2021. I was fond of Tammy Lynn, uh, from the moment I met her. But was hesitant to attempt to leave the friend zone for lots of reasons. But when I got an indication in my spirit that told me, 'There is no other,' I let go of all my fears and dropped everything to pursue her and to make her my wife. I was obedient to that call on my spirit back then, and I have been blessed by it ever since. Speaking of obedience, I shared yesterday's In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley's devotional that spoke on the topic of obedience. Obedience. And I'm sharing Stanley's devotional for today as well because it continues the theme. The message of obedience continues, and I believe that this is the word that I needed to hear, and maybe the word you need to hear, to lead us into 2025 with confidence, hope, and the joy of expectation. Dr. Charles Stanley writes Um, yeah, A Small Matter of Obedience. God sees and rewards us every time we choose to obey him, even when the decision seems insignificant. Yesterday we learned that obeying God in small matters is essential to receiving his rewards. What he asks us to do is never insignificant, though we may not always recognize the importance of saying yes. Peter couldn't have imagined the impact a small boat trip would have in his life in Luke 5:1-11, but his obedience opened the door for God to bless him with a revolutionary ministry. When we do what the Lord asks, he is pleased, but when we disobey, it costs us. God loves his children unconditionally and has a perfect plan for each one. Obeying him ultimately will never prove disappointing, because when we do, our hearts open wide to let his power pour in. As believers, we should ask what God wants us to do in daily situations. We must learn to listen and be sensitive to his voice throughout the day. By keeping our mind attuned to him, will begin to understand the significance of some decisions we might otherwise barely notice. This awareness leads to a lifestyle of walking with the Lord and receiving his best for us. Hindsight can help us recognize God's blessings. Looking at the past year, can you see his wisdom in leading you to make right decisions? Make 2025 a year of obedience. Choose to trust him. And receive the blessings he wants to give you. That was from Dr. Charles Stanley, and I say amen. You know, Luke 5:1-11 is the scripture reading for Stanley's devotional, and it is especially meaningful to me. That passage of scripture is the passage that I selected for my first sermon in Bible college. Peter being struck by the realization that he was sitting in in his boat with the Messiah caused him to declare himself to be a sinful man. In light of hearing the gospel message of grace that saved my soul, I too was cut to the heart by my sin and desperately threw myself on the mercy of the Lord in tears, accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Like Peter in the presence of the Lord, I too proclaimed myself to be a sinner and was pleasantly surprised by and immediately accepted Jesus' call to come into his kingdom. As this year ends today, I have been receiving constant reminders through my experiences and through Christian messages that it is through Christ alone that we are given the power and authority to overcome the devil and to become the people God created us to be. And all we have to do to experience freedom and victory is to simply believe in Jesus and obey the call he puts on our life. Well, I could be upset over my stumbling. Jesus doesn't call us to look back at our mistakes. He calls us to abide with him and to pick up our cross and to follow him into the life he has for us. Not obeying God's word doesn't hurt the Lord, but boy does it hurt— cost us. Not only does it cost us the negative consequences of sin and its resultant shame and guilt, but it also costs us the progress we could make. And most importantly, it costs us the peace and joy that we could know by walking in obedience with the Lord. Making progress feels good. Knowing that we are doing what is right according to God's word feels good. And enjoying harmony in the presence of the Lord feels wonderful. God's love is a constant, but to experience the fullness of it, sometimes we have to let— get out of our own way by recognizing when we are wandering away from God by comparing ourselves to the world's standards and choosing its ways to satisfy. Satisfy our flesh, and in, um, instead of enjoying the Lord's present— no, let's see, I sort of messed that up— uh, and choosing its ways to satisfy our flesh and settling for less than what he has for us. Simple obedience and enjoying the Lord's presence leads to blessings. And I, for one, am choosing to follow the Lord into the new year by dropping the things I've been distracted by and picking up only what God wants me to carry. Trust in the Lord, my friends, uh, and follow him. Amen. Uh, today's Bible verse comes to us from A Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verse comes from the section on humility, pride. And today's ver— verse is Matthew 5:3, which says, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Today's verse Today's verse is the second of two passages of scripture that fall under the second point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on humility or pride. And that second point is, listen carefully to what Jesus says. Today's Bible verse is one that is used often at Celebrate Freedom, our Christian recovery and discipleship support group, and it often puzzles those who are new to hearing it. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Why in the world would those who are poor in spirit get the kingdom of heaven? Wouldn't the rich in spirit get the kingdom? What's the deal, Jesus? Well, from what I have come to understand, the truth is that in and of ourselves there are none that are rich in spirit. And the word of God in Romans 3:11 tells us that none seek after God, and we all fall short of the glory of God. In essence, we are all spiritually bankrupt, but many of us are deceived into believing that we are good enough for God's kingdom. We wrongfully surmise that our good works will save us, and we then make the cardinal sin in trusting in ourselves rather than in trusting God for our salvation. Thinking we are, are rich, we reject God's offer of grace We go to hell. This may be why Jesus said it was so difficult for the rich to make it into God's kingdom. They thought they could do it on their own, but they can't. Thus, the spiritually poor, those who know they are without any hope of saving themselves, and those who see their need of Jesus as Lord and Savior are the ones who will come into the kingdom of heaven. They will get the kingdom because they will see their own bankruptcy. And choose to receive the riches of God's grace that comes through faith in Christ alone. So remember and rejoice that although we could be saddened by our poor spiritual state, the Lord has blessed us with the truth, the way, and the life— Jesus— that can save us and lead us to live in the mansions that he has prepared for us in the kingdom of heaven. As always, we encourage everyone to go to mtforchrist.com, where we always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist our brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. And today we continue sharing from Day by Day Along the Way by J.E. Adams. It's a 365-day devotional, and we're on day 42, uh, where J.E. Adams shares a portion of 2 John 8, which says, watch yourselves that you don't lose that which you have worked for, but rather that you may receive a full reward. And J.E. Adams writes, John wanted the elect lady to be sure that she didn't lose the reward that she had worked for. It is possible to do, you know. Evidently she had already accumulated a substantial share of heavenly treasures, but they were threatened. False teachers were in her community seeking a place to live while peddling their wares. To greet such persons by offering hospitality was to have a part in their evil deeds. Cults today look for homes to use as a base of operations in the community. Christians may enable them to spread falsehood by opening their homes to them. The elect lady must have been a hospitable person who unknowingly might have done so. In addition, she herself was also liable to accept their teaching and go beyond the truth taught by John, since many are looking for something more This is an ever-present danger, but you can't go beyond what God has said in his all-sufficient word without leaving the way of truth. Like her, you too must avoid the temptation to do so. Amen. Amen. You know, and I, I know I shared, uh, Dr. Charles Stanley's word, you know, as a quote-unquote word for the new year for all of us. And that word, you know, give me a break, um, that simple. The word is obedience to trust and obey the, the word of God. Um, so, and, you know, so that's not some sort of false guidance. We're just telling you to read the Bible and do what it says. Um, but we have to be careful because even in Christian cultures, uh, in the church, there can be little, you know, people looking for a special word, uh, for the new year. Um, I gotta— I'm asking the Holy Spirit for a special word, and that word is whatever. And then we go off on tangents following it. But the problem is we don't live in a spiritual vacuum. Um, the word that we receive could be from a dark spirit, you know, the spiritual forces of darkness, the demon, or it could be from our own flesh. You know, my word is, um, marriage. But you know, I, I was— I followed it. Now I followed the word, the Holy Spirit, in terms of following the call to marry my wife, Tammy Lynn, because she was a Christian and her faith was strong and she was what I needed. And although we have situations that weren't perfect for our union, her faith was what I needed. She was the one. She had come to my Community of Freedom ministry and sat under my teaching, and I got a word from the Lord. It was like, you know, who else? You know, who else, who else, who, who else is there, uh, that, you know, has come and listened to this Freedom in Christ message like Tammy Lynn has? Who else can support you and, you know, love you, um, with that faith and that dedication to knowing Freedom in Christ, um, like Tammy Lynn? Well, there, there was no other, and You know, I let go of my fears and I asked Tammy Lynn to marry me, and I haven't regretted it ever since. Um, so that, you know, that was definitely not a word in scripture, you know, uh, ask Tammy Lynn Seguin to marry you. Um, but it was something that was on my heart, and, um, I haven't regretted it. She hasn't led me astray, so we're good. Um, So we encourage you to follow, follow your heart and follow the Lord at the same time, you know. So be careful with that word and special knowledge because there will be false teachers. The word tells us that, um, that can lead us astray. So we always want to have the word of God as our standard for truth and as our guide for life. And when you follow that, it leads you into repentance of sin, not further into sin. Leads you into trust and devotion to the Lord. And, uh, the loving him and following him only. And, um, this is the way of peace and the way of victory and the way of freedom and the way of joy. And, um, it's also a way of suffering, so we got to be careful, um, not to get it twisted. Sometimes we run into tough seasons, but the Lord is with us and he'll guide us out of them and into the place where he wants us to go. So it's my hope that in 2025 we'll all go that way. And, um, that's the reason why we ask, have you fully surrendered to God? Uh, I've been fully surrendering to God over and over again because, you know, I get led astray. You know, the world, people are doing this over there and that looks good. You know, let's try that. Let's, uh, why do we have to work so hard? Why do we have to try so hard? Why do we, you know, like, uh, why don't we just let go and do our own thing for a while? Yikes. When we do that, we usually mess up, and then we end up feeling guilty and shameful, um, you know, for what we've done. And that's, you know, that's where I am in terms of the way I've given in the indulgence of the flesh this year in terms of food. Um, so obsessed with what goes into my body and feeding myself that, uh, I think I got distracted and lost, lost, um, you know, if we just accept something and live according to our faith. You know, these things are good for me, this is what I'll choose, instead of questioning it. Well, maybe I can have this, maybe you can have that, maybe it's not good for me, but I can get away with it. Whoa. You know, that's, that's where we go astray. And, you know, with mine, it's sweets and, you know, carb-laden foods. Um, for others, it could be alcohol, drugs, sex. You know, a little bit of this isn't so bad. Well, yikes. It just happens to contradict the word of God, and we don't want to do that. Because it hurts us more than it hurts God, and it costs us something. So let's repent and follow the Lord only as we enter into the new year. Um, you know, Lord will give us purpose and meaning and hope. And part of my purpose is to lead the Celebrate Freedom support group at Starpoint Church. We begin next week, next Wednesday. Um, I'm happy to report that I've gotten some inquiries, and I'm hoping the Lord will bring people into our fellowship for Christian recovery and discipleship, and that we'll have a whole new season of Victory and Freedom for, for newcomers. Um, those— this meeting is open to anybody who wants to show up. Um, basically, we do encourage people to register by going to the events on Starpoint Church, clicking on Celebrate Freedom, and registering, uh, just so we know who you are and we can send you messages about, you know, what our meeting is about and a reminder each week to, to come. Um, so we encourage you all to come. Um, as for, uh, if you can't make it to Clifton Park on a Wednesday night, we're also offering it online. We're going to be doing these teachings come, come what may, and we're excited about it. And so if you'd like to sign up to join me online to hear the teachings and to get encouraged to walk in freedom, you can go to mtforchrist.com to our group coaching events. Page and register and register and pay to receive what we have for you. We're going, you know, this is a long haul we're signing up for. 25 weeks of teaching from the Celebrate Recovery material, plus everything I know about my, my personal journey of recovery and everything I've learned from Celebrate Freedom— or well, from Freedom in Christ Ministries and Deeper Walk International as a prayer minister, um, bringing on the table. Also have a degree in Christian counseling. So everything I got, I'm going to throw at you. But we'll be, we'll be faithful to the Celebrate Recovery material because guess what? That's, that's what helped to set me free. But there was so much more, um, to know and to do and to process that, you know, I'm gonna try to offer what I, what I can to help whoever, uh, who should, uh, view the videos that I create. So we encourage you to join us either before or after the fact to get set free in Christ. Um, however, if you don't want to do that, there are free teachings that we offer, um, on our playlist page on YouTube. There's podcast classes for Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, Freedom in Christ. Those are the teachings I did in 2021 when Tammy Lynn was sitting there. And sometimes it was just Tammy Lynn, and sometimes it was nobody. Um, but I was faithful to deliver the message, and I'm very happy that people still listen to these messages today. Um, so we share them on YouTube, for your edification, you know, so you define and increase your freedom in Christ. And we hope you check them out. We have lots of playlists to encourage you, so you can go on our playlist page and, you know, check our teachings out or other ones from other Christian theologians that we shared. Um, okay, beyond that, we're moving into the new year, so we're— this is our last message before a new year. We're going to say You know, as always, are you empty for Christ too? Have you surrendered yourself to the Lord's will? Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to come in to guide you forward into the new year? Well, we're hoping you say yes, and if so, we say keep on walking and talking with God. If not, we encourage you to pray and to ask the Lord to come into your life, reveal himself, and for him to urge you and compel you to make Jesus your Lord and Savior, because we know that's the way to everlasting life and freedom and joy right here on earth, um, before we see that kingdom come. Uh, so that's why we pray every day. The Lord's worked through prayers in the past, and we know he'll work through prayers in the future. So we pray right now. Amen. Uh, Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. We thank you so much for the year that was 2024. Thank you for the victories. We thank you for the challenges. Um, we thank you for your presence, Lord, that leads us forth and leads us forward, uh, to follow you and to say yes, to be obedient to you, to say yes to your leading, to your presence and your love, Lord. You've made our lives full, and, uh, we just want to follow you more into that, Lord. And we just ask for you to help us to do that today. Lord, we also pray for anyone who's reading or listening or watching today's message, that you come alongside them and bless them. And bless their walk of faith. Lord, we all want to follow you and do what's right, but we need your help to help us do that. Help us to let go and let you, Lord, uh, in 2025 and what's left of today. Well, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.