Rejoicing in the Victories Seen - Purity 1194

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 a leaf-covered, log-obstructed forest pathway comes to us from yours truly as I took time to capture this scene as I walked out of the woods on Saturday from my brief visit to the Lybrook Falls Trail near Manchester, Vermont. Well, it's Thursday, and I share today's forest pathway photo to encourage my friends in the northern regions of the country to get out and see some of God's great outdoors before the temperatures drop too low or before the terrain is covered in snow. I also share it because it is a tradition of sorts to share a pathway photo on Thursdays because that was the original day of the week that I got on the road to recovery and started following the pathway of Christian discipleship with an attitude of surrender. So I share pathway photos as a visual reminder and encouragement to myself and to you, friend, of the journey that has been taken and of the fact that I'm still following Jesus all these years later. Last night I hosted the Celebrate Freedom growth group meeting at Starpoint Church and was filled with joy over the fact that we have been walking along that path for 26 weeks, half a year, and have seen the Lord do some amazing work in and through that group. But I also have to admit that I was a little disappointed as our attendance wasn't as high as I thought it would be, and realized that there have been many who once walked with us and have seemingly made the decision never to return again. I also lament over the 8 people who registered for our group and never attended, knowing that the ones who never came and the ones who had stopped coming most likely haven't been healed of whatever hurt, habit, or hang-up that caused them to express interest in the group. I was also, uh, I was also disappointed to hear that some of the people in attendance last night were still struggling with the same problems. They had had some measure of victory over in previous weeks. But that's why we meet, to encourage those who are still struggling and to be there in case those who have never attended or those who have been gone for a long time decide to come, decide to come. As much as I would like to cure every one of their burdens, I know that's not my job. I and the other people that attend our meetings can't fix or heal anyone. Only God can do that. And all that we can do is encourage people with, with the truth that God is real. He does love and care about them, and he will help them if they ask him and make the choice to follow him into repentance and the new life that he has for them. And many in our group, our little group, can bear witness to that truth because he has helped them, healed them, and delivered them out of the darkness of their past to discover a new life of hope, peace, love, and joy. They surrendered to the Lord's wisdom and ways and have been transformed. They have joy because they know they are never alone. They have been given, uh, let's see, They have been given the power to overcome the sins and addictions that had, had them in bondage. They discovered that the fruit of the Spirit of peace, love, joy, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, patience, gentleness, and yes, self-control can grow in their lives when they follow Jesus. So last night, despite some disappointments over the things that didn't happen for the the people that stopped coming or who didn't step out in faith to get help, I was given the privilege to hear some amazing testimonies about how our group had been used by the Lord to help people overcome their problems and hurts and experience freedom and victory. One of the testimonies was my own. Uh, I took the extra time we had last night and laid out my twisted path through life and testified how the Lord guided me into a new life that is defined by peace, joy, and purpose, and how he still wasn't done making me into the person he created me to be, as he has used this latest incarnation of Celebrate Freedom to guide me into new levels of freedom and victory as my body is being transformed, as I am in the best physical shape of my life. Through several weeks of victory over my food addiction. So even though I wish more people could have benefited from the support and encouragement we offer at the Celebrate Freedom Growth Group, I will remind myself of the victories we have seen in others and in myself and rejoice. I don't know, uh, if you don't know what it means, uh, to be free in Christ, I encourage you to seek the Lord and to follow his will for your life. Check out Freedom in Christ Ministries at ficm.org or Deeper Walk International at deeperwalkinternational.org if you don't have a recovery or freedom ministry at your local church. Seek to equip yourself and make the decision to ask God to help you and grant your repentance. For as Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-8, "Ask, and it will be given to you." Seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Today's Bible verses come to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Kruis. This morning's meditation verses come from the section on Children, and today's verses come from Matthew 19:13-15. Where the Word of God says, then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them and went away. Today's verses fall under the fifth point of our counseling reference resource guide— well, reference guide's resource section on children. Uh, today's Now, fifth point is Jesus loves little children. Of such is God's kingdom. Today's verses show us that Jesus loves— his love extends to the littlest of humans, the children. And other scriptures indicate that all we need to be saved is childlike faith to trust in him as Lord and Savior. Jesus took the time to love the least of these, and in a historical era where children were treated as property and were disciplined harshly to keep silent and not to be a bother, Jesus showed that their little lives mattered and that he loved them too. The love God— the love of God extends to us all, and because children need to learn in order to survive in this world, we We should do all we can to tell them about Jesus and encourage them to follow his example for living and to put their faith and trust in him to be safe in God's kingdom forevermore. As always, we invite everyone to go to M.t. Clark.org where we always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist our brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink, uh, the Arthur Pink Anthology, as we start sharing number 4, the, the, uh, a two-part series of Bearing the Rod. Uh, it's a gospel tract from A.W. Pink, and, uh, it's, it's going to be shared in two parts, with part one being shared today. So if you want to know what, um, A.W. Pink has to say about bearing the rod, uh, go to mtforchrist.org and you'll see that resource at the end of today's blog post. As always, we encourage a lifestyle of Christian discipleship where you learn the Word of God, connect with Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and attach yourself relationally to the Lord to, to love and follow and serve him in whatever ways you can. And, um, you know, just to rely on his truth, um, about what he says about us and about what he says about the future. And that, uh, when we walk with him, we can experience the fruit of the Spirit when we walk in the Spirit instead of the flesh. Um, yeah, I was a little— like I said, a little disappointed last night. We'd have a larger turnout, but people People have different plans. We did have a few people tell us why they couldn't come, and it just sort of happens. You know, some weeks our attendance isn't as high as it was. Not that it was low, um, it's just, you know, we've had some weeks where we're bursting at the seams. But, um, you know, Jesus isn't about numbers. He's about disciples, about people who follow. And, you know, with our Christian lives, we get out what we put in. If we study the Word, we'll know the Word. And if we know the Word, we can apply it to our lives. If we don't pay any heed to God's Word, we're not going to really be blessed by that. And we're not going to get the revelations that come through knowing it. And we won't have the conviction in our hearts to live according to it if we don't know it. So the word of God is very important, and last night made a case for that, you know, that, you know, whatever the world says, we're trying to do biblical Christianity where we, where we follow the word of God and repent of our sins, basically. So when you do that, you discover a whole new life, and you discover the good consequences that come from good living and by being in God's kingdom. So we encourage that, and like I said, we're, we're continuing to be transformed ourselves, and we're very, very happy. Um, this is a wonderful season of my life as, uh, this year has been pretty busy with the Deeper Walk School of Prayer Ministry, and our cohort meets tonight, but I'll be taking it on the road as I have a 3-day weekend because of Veterans Day. Thank you, veterans everywhere. Thank you, Lord, for the victory that was won on this original, you know, on the 11th. We'll be remembering, you know, Armistice Day. I believe it was World War II. Boy, yikes. I'll just say stop speaking in case I'm incorrect. Um, November 11th, um, a day that was good one way or the other. Anyway, um, embarrassing. But, um, that's the thing. We don't have to do— know everything. We don't have to be perfect. We just have to know Jesus in order to be welcomed in the kingdom of God. We can always get our facts and figures straight later. Um, if we seek out, um, knowledge and wisdom, uh, it's there for the taking. But if we don't know it, we'll, we'll continue to make mistakes. So we'll have to look that up. Anyway, today I have to work, um, before going up north. So, uh, let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you so much for all that you've done in our lives and through the Celebrate Freedom growth group at Starpoint Church and all this, uh, all the other, uh, things that I've seen in, in this walk, uh, through life, uh, with you, Lord. We, we thank you so much for, for what you've done and what you continue to do, um, on the earth in terms of helping people and leading people to, uh, the truth and into your kingdom through their faith in Jesus. Lord, we pray for anyone who's listening or reading today's message, that you come alongside them and their prayer request and their walk of faith. Because Lord, we all need your help, we all need your guidance, we all need your truth, and we all need your strength and power, um, through the Holy Spirit. And we ask for that today, Lord. We pray for you to go before us and open our eyes to the things you want us to see and lead our paths in the way we should go. Have your spirit speak to us and guide us and protect us as we go out there into the world today. And Lord, we thank you so much for what you— for what you've done. And we just— we just pray that you would help us and help us today as well. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.