Walking AND Talking with God – The Living Word - Purity 1549

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. Today's photo of the green hills of Funk Road comes to us from yours truly as I captured this vibrant green scene while passing through Skodak Landing, New York. Back on June 10th, 2022. Well, it's Tuesday, and I share this green palatial scene this morning because it's not so green outside in upstate New York, but I have faith in God that he will bring the green back once again. And all we have to do is to trust that his created order will do what it has done in the past and wait for it. In the meantime, we can enjoy whatever blessings, uh, he has provided us with today. And spend some time walking and talking, uh, to God to maintain our peace and joy. I use that phrase a lot, walking and talking with God, and I do so to encourage people to not only follow the Lord or to be obedient to his word and call on our lives, walking, but to also encourage people to spend time in his presence and really draw close to the Lord by literally conversing with him as we go about our day. Talking. I talk about this today because I have periodically run into lopsided Christians. Our faith is a spectrum with two extremes being legalism and licentiousness, or cheap grace. Within that spectrum, there is also the idea of a relationship with God, and ironically, that can be vibrant or ice cold, non-existent— an ice cold, non-existent thing all along the spectrum. There can be some who are pretty strict that use God's word to beat themselves and others up, but who don't have a close intimate relationship with the Lord, revealing self-righteousness. But there are— there can also be, quote unquote, legalists who deeply love the Lord and have intimacy with our Heavenly Father, and they are strict with the way they live their lives out of a deep love for the Lord. Similarly, you can have proponents of the cheap grace side of the spectrum who have close, close personal encounters with the Lord and subsequently feel that there's no need to be a legalist by studying the Bible and adhering to a simple path of just going into God's presence with adoration and gratitude. Also on the cheap grace side, you can have some Christians who have heard the gospel, had a real moment of salvation, but then decide they're good and who don't spend any time with the Father and just go about their business much like they did, you before raising their hand or going forward to an altar call. Those quote-unquote Christians who read the word or don't and don't really know, um, what we are talking about when we say we are to have a relationship with God are really missing it. God is present everywhere and sought us out to bring us into a relationship with him and his eternal kingdom as sons and daughters. So I stress the importance of our relationship with God But I also stress being obedient to God's word and to allow it to change our— your life. Um, speaking of God's word, Dr. Jeremiah talks about that topic in today's Turning Point devotion, and I'm sharing it on the blog today to encourage people to actually read the Bible and to allow the living word of God to transform them into the people God created them to be. Dr. David Jeremiah writes, The Living Word. And he shares Hebrews 4:12, the go-to verse about the, the Bible, uh, which says, for the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And David Jeremiah writes, perhaps you've purchased a self-help book but haven't opened it because you don't want to receive what it will say. Some people can be hesitant when it comes to reading the Bible or praying to God for direction for the same reason. We're not ready for the answer we might get. The Bible is not like any other book. It is not just a collection of words and pages like a self-help book, but it is a book that is living and powerful. When we open the Bible, the Holy Spirit uses the words of scripture to reveal to and reveal things to and about us that can change our life. It can reveal or discern the thoughts of and intents of our heart. You know, I say when we read the Bible, it's reading us. Anyway, he continues and he writes, the question is, are we ready to see and know what the Spirit may show us about our life? When you open the Bible, pray, Lord, open the eyes of my heart that I may see and receive what your word will reveal to me. That was David Jeremiah. He also shared a quote from Dr. John Gerstner, the late doctor, who wrote, uh, the written word of God has the seal of the, of the living word of God. Amen. It's a living word. Um, amen. It's the word of God, the living word, and the Holy Spirit within us that can give us— within us that can give us strength and wisdom to change our life, you know. Those, those things, the Word and the Spirit, right? God's Word can cause us to live a good, righteous, and holy life. So be sure to read the Bible several, several times a week, if, if not every day, because as you're reading it, the Word is reading you and can give you fresh insights, encouragement, inspiration to live for God and to become the person God created you to be. While we can get God's word through sermons, podcasts, and Christian books, and we should engage these things too, there is no better way to connect to the Lord and his wisdom and power than having a regular practice of, of reading, uh, of reading the Bible. So read the Bible if you haven't, if you're not already, or consider increasing your time in it if you are, because your investment in God's word will pay dividends that are worth seeking. Today's Bible verse is coming to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verses come from the section on pride and humility, um, and today's verse is Ephesians 2:8-9. From the NIV, the word of God says, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the work— it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. Today's verses are the second of four passages of scripture that fall under the sixth point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on humility and pride. And that sixth point is: Are you a Christian? Born again? If so, God alone gets the glory. Today's Bible verses are some of the best news to those— is some really good news, some of the best news to those who are tired of trying to work to earn earn good standing with the Lord. These are some go-to verses that when we— yeah, these are some go-to verses when we feel we are not measuring up to God's standard, and we should meditate on them and remind ourselves of their truth whenever we get bogged down into a performance mentality when it comes to our faith. We are saved by grace through faith and it is not of ourselves. God supernaturally woke us up to the truth and drew us into His kingdom. We didn't save ourselves by wising up. God did it. It wasn't our work, it was His, and that should humble us and cause us to reject any idea of boasting about our enlightened state as a Christian. We were a sinner in need of a Savior, And although we are now saints, we should never boast about ourselves but only give credit and glory to God. As always, we encourage everyone to go to mtforchrist.com, where we 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, Christian counselor. And, uh, in today's, uh, it's a 365 Today devotional. We're on day 48, uh, where J.E. Adams shares Proverbs 20:27, which says, the spirit of man is Yahweh's lamp, searching all the inner paths of his being. And J.E. Adams writes, God uses your conscience to probe your inner being. Conscience is literally knowing together with. One knows what he is thinking and doing along with the act or contemplated act itself. When you inwardly choose an evil contemplated act itself— oh wait, sorry— when you inwardly choose an evil path, whether or not you're— you actually follow it, you sin and you know it. So before taking the next step, listen to the inner voice that tells you to stop. Confess the evil in our thought, and begin to think about taking godly paths instead. Jesus said that hatred was murder, that lust was adultery. But of course, it is better for the object of lust and murder to not have to follow you, to have you follow through. Conscience serves— searches out the dark paths that we find running through our hearts, exposes them, puts brings us to repentance, and when obeyed, prohibits us from actually walking in them. But your conscience can be seared by consistently ignoring it so that it no longer sounds an alarm. Don't extinguish the lamp. Instead, keep a flaming conscience, a lamp well trimmed and informed by the scriptures, and then obey it. Amen. You know, and then when we, when we are tempted, um, we have to realize it might not just be our flesh. So but we, we should look at, you know, those— that evil path that we're thinking about, we don't want to go down it, and we don't want to think about it. We want to turn our thoughts away from that to something else, think on what's good, proper, and holy, right? Um, but also these, these thoughts, these temptations can come from the spiritual forces of darkness, the fiery darts of the devil, right? And, um, they can condemn us, they can tempt us, they can accuse us, um, and we have to stand guard knowing that the battlefield of our mind is where the spiritual warfare takes place mostly. And so we have to be prepared to reject those toxic thoughts that come in and realize that they might be from us and they might be from the devil, or they might be from the world, but the truth of God's Word will nullify them, and our decision to follow the Lord will keep us safe from them. So don't do that. And that's why we always ask the question, have you fully surrendered to God? Are you not only— did you not only— are you not only believing in the Lord, or are you actually actively following him? Have you opened up yourself to repentance and sanctification? You know, that's the difference maker, right? God came to save us, and he, in many ways, he came to save us from ourselves, you know, our own bad decisions and choices and beliefs. And so we have to fill our minds with the word of God. And to know what's right and true and to be encouraged by it, to walk in it. And we talk with the Lord too. Um, so we, we encourage a life of Christian discipleship because it'll lead you into better things. And one of the better things that it led me into is the, um, leadership at the Celebrate Freedom support group on, um, at Starpoint Church in Clifton Park, New York. And we meet on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM, and we encourage anyone in Upstate New York who can get to Clifton Park on a Wednesday to join us. For Christian recovery and discipleship as we try to encourage people to, you know, change their life. And so we hope you will come. But if you can't make it, if you're not in Upstate New York, we got good news. We just started doing our Christian recovery coaching of Celebrate Freedom last night, and we started the we did the introduction, or I did the introduction, um, basically the ABCs of Celebrate Freedom, to give you tools basically to do day by day. So that's the first lesson, you know, that's the introduction. And then right after it, I, I presented Celebrate Recovery's Denial lesson and with my commentary. And so those two episodes are now on YouTube and are available to watch. So go to YouTube, the M.t. Clark 24/7, um, uh, 24/7, uh, channel on YouTube. And, um, check them out and, you know, tell me what you think. And, and because it's a group coaching and basically it's new, we're encouraging people to, you know, support, support my ministry by donating. So you can go to the donations page on mtforchrist.com to donate, to celebrate my, uh, to celebrate, to support my efforts. Or you can go to the group coaching events page where Celebrate Freedom is listed. If you can't give a $50 donation, which is the minimum on the donation page, you can give $10, um, basically. And so if you're in it, you can follow along, go through recovery with me, um, and, you know, be blessed by it. And I, I know I went through this material with Celebrate Recovery, and I've, I've tried to take what I've learned from Deeper Walk International, Freedom in Christ Ministries, Christian College, Christian, uh, Christian Counseling Master's program and try to bring it into one, include, you know, inclusive, you know, you know, uh, teaching. And we call it Celebrate Freedom. So if you want, you travel to New York, or you can just watch me on YouTube. Um, so there's that. Uh, beyond that, we've done other teachings in the past. Um, the ones we did in our own church back in 2021, uh, for the Bondage Breaker, Victory Over the Darkness, Freedom in Christ, are all available on our playlist page. And we believe you can find or increase your freedom in Christ by joining one of those classes. So let the word of God, you know, you know, read the Bible and, you know, get good teaching, uh, based on scripture, uh, through these materials. And, you know, it can really change your life. Beyond that, we, we always wrap up every episode by asking the same question twice, basically, or by saying, by saying, are you empty for Christ too? It's a clever planned word saying, are you making yourself available? Are you emptying yourself of the world's garbage and trying to fill yourself with God's truth and his Spirit to move you into a new life where you can overcome? And if so, we say, keep on walking and talking with God. Now you know what I mean by that, you know, following him, doing his will, obeying his word, and drawing into his presence to receive his love and joy. These are the are two parts of that. And so we encourage you to do that. And if you're not, you know, empty for Christ or surrender to the Lord, we encourage you to pray, um, just to pray for the Lord to reveal himself and to ask him to help you to see the truth that Jesus came to save us. And then, you know, pray to make Jesus your Lord and Savior, and things can really change. Um, all right, um, beyond that, I know I need to pray for myself today, so let's, let's do that. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in Kingdom. We thank you so much for all you've done for us, Lord, and how you led us out of the darkness of our addictions and pains and, you know, bad relationships and negative emotions, uh, to enjoy peace and joy with you, uh, on a continual basis now. And, uh, we just thank you for that, Lord. But it's another day, and we're going to need you today to open our eyes to the things you want us to see and lead us in the way we should go. Um, and Lord, we also pray for the anyone watching or reading or listening to this message today, that you come alongside them and their prayer requests, their walk of faith, and that you bless them. Because we, we all want to follow you, we want to do what's right, but we need your help with that. And, uh, Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.