“What am I Missing?” - Freedom and Peace Through the Lord - Purity 1255

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 photo of the golden shades of autumn and a blue and white sky reflected on the surface of what I believe to be Franklin Falls Pond comes to us from yours truly, as I made a point of capturing the artwork that decorated my accommodations at On Franklin Pond back on January 1st. The bed and breakfast, uh, located on the shores of Franklin Falls Pond near Bloomingdale, New York, is highly recommended, and I was truly blessed by my wife with the Christmas present of a weekend there with, with her to celebrate the arrival of the new year and our second anniversary. While we can't give the gift of peace with any degree of certainty, that's what I received for that weekend. And I took photos of the room's artwork to remind me of that wonderful time together. Well, it's Tuesday, and even though I'm not awakening to the peaceful confines of On Franklin Pond, nestled in the Adirondacks, I am overcome by a sense of peace just remembering it, and am looking forward to the possibility of being in the presence of my beloved wife later this afternoon weather permitting, as our niece Grace has a theatrical performance scheduled for later today, and we plan on going to support her artistic endeavors and to spend some rare weekend— weeknight time together for dinner. The past week has brought quite a bit of suffering in the extended circles of my family and friends, and as much as my prayers are going out to you, to the afflicted and grieving, I won't take my blessings for granted and am giving thanks to the Lord for this, this morning for the life that he has led me into, a life that is defined by him and blessed with the fruit of the Spirit of peace, love, and joy regardless of the circumstances. Last night I led the Men's Freedom in Christ course that I facilitate for Freedom in Christ Ministries online, and as the discipleship course starts at the basics. One of the participants, uh, voiced his skepticism, wondering aloud if this was all there is, as last night's lessons encouraged us to choose to believe the truth. Um, I already believe the truth. I've decided to follow the Lord. I am choosing it. So why do I struggle with the same things I have struggled with for years? I hope There's more to this. What am I missing? In a word, freedom, peace. If you— if your walk doesn't lead you to the fruit of the Spirit, these are good questions to ask. What am I missing? Well, there is more to the Freedom in Christ course than what is presented in the first 3 lessons. I pointed out that the lessons stand on their own as good lessons for Christian discipleship, drawing from the Word of God to assure us of their truth and wisdom. Lesson 1, or the introduction, which is optional but which I never skip, introduces why we can believe the Bible. It presents compelling evidence for the fact that the Word of God, that it is the Word of God and it is true. Lesson 2, Session 1, then teaches what God, God says in His Word about what happens to us Christians After we have put our faith in Jesus, we are forever changed. And Lesson 3, Session 2, stands— teaches us even though— that even though we receive much, really everything at salvation, it doesn't mean that we will necessarily represent God's kingdom with our thoughts and behaviors or do the good works he has prepared for us to do. Because we have free will, um, after we come to faith in Christ, we still have to make the decision to surrender to his lordship and choose to change the way we live according to God's truth. And we have to do it in spirit and in truth. We have to choose to follow the Lord in earnest, and we have to do it from a heart level, out of our love for him. That's what's missing. The love, the surrender, the continued effort to do his will rather than our own. The decision to stop doing things our way and to choose his way in A-L-L, all the aspects of our lives. That's what's missing. If you surrendered your mind, will, and emotions to be conformed to the image of Christ, the struggles would end. If you crucify the flesh in the power of the Holy Spirit, again surrendering to the Lord and asking for His strength and guidance to help you to be free, victory would come. If you remove the footholds and the strongholds that the enemy operates from, again by reliance on the Holy Spirit in you, you will be set free. So yeah, there's more. Heck, there's lots more. And that's a lot. And thus the Freedom in Christ course merely begins the journey, that journey. It begins by showing us the basics of our faith and so we can, so we can be reminded of what is true and it can teach us how to apply that truth in our lives. Ultimately, the Freedom in Christ course guides us to see the truth and moves us to ask God to help us to be free by resolving all of our personal and spiritual conflicts. The steps to freedom in Christ, which the Course leads us to, is not some magical prayer that wishes things away. It's a prayerful repentance process where the participants renounce all their sins, rebellious or prideful attitudes, and demonic associations, and, and makes the commitment to follow the Lord in earnest for the rest of our lives. The Steps to Freedom in Christ may be a series of prayers, but they are not necessarily something you just say as much as they are something you do. Faith in God, surrender to the Lord, and praying through the Steps to Freedom in Christ are the beginning of a post-repentance life of freedom. It's not a one-and-done, it's a forevermore. And, uh, what, what, let's, what, let's see what the Lord has in store. Forgive the rhyme and my stuttering, but that's the truth. A big misnomer in the body of Christ, which goes against God's word, is a belief that we will suddenly be blessed and set free, that we will arrive at sanctification or freedom and never be challenged again. It's a pipe dream and a lie. Our relationship with God never ends, our lives never end, and the word tells us continually to submit to God and to resist the devil. To rejoice always, to give thanks in all things, to be content, and to keep moving forward. The peace and freedom we find by going through the steps is only the beginning, as the Lord will continually draw us to become the people He created us to be and to do the good works He has created us to do. So we keep going. As John the Baptist said, we must decrease and He, Jesus, must increase. And while we still— we will still be uniquely our own persons in temperament, personality, and talents and purpose, God has a more Christlike version of that person waiting for you to walk into. But we have to do our part to get there. So make the decision to believe the truth of God's Word, what it says about you as a child of God, and what it tells us of about how to live and then show you believe it by living according to it, according to God's ways, and in his presence all the time. That's what's missing. But I know that the Lord will be faithful to give what we are missing if we look to him to give it to us. So keep walking and talking with God and experience the peace that comes from knowing He will lead you and He will never let you down. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verse comes from the section on Communication, Gossip, and Lying. Today's verse is Ephesians 4:29, and the Word of God says, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but—" only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Today's verse is the second of two passages of scripture that fall under the third point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on communication, gossip, and lying. That third point is: Speak the truth in love, not harshly. Today's verse tells us to use our voices to build one another up. And they give grace to those who hear it. We are to not let corrupting speech come out of our mouths. This would include cursing, suggesting worldly ways over godless ways, voicing complaints or gripes, and using sarcasm. Really, M.t.? Clark. Really. The voice is merely a reflection of the heart and mind, and if we are using foul language, complaining, or being disingenuous, it reveals that our hearts are far from God. Foul language is darkness. God's not there. Complaining is the opposite of giving thanks. God's not there. Griping is the opposite of rejoicing. God's not there. And sarcasm is, is a sly form of lying. It speaks the opposite of the truth for comic effect and is a passive-aggressive attack against the people it is poured out on, insulting them but in a cowardly way that seeks to avoid offense in the name of humor. God's not there. But God is in the words that speak of life, hope, togetherness, and encouragement. Edifying speech builds one another up in the truth of God's word. God is there, so let's stay there. And if we need, if we need to, we can look to God's word and the Holy Spirit to give us words to speak. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.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 According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament by Stephen Eflin. Alford, a collection of devotional journals from 1940 and '41. And in this devotion, Alford prompts us to read the Word of God, the New Testament. And today's prompting is to read Matthew 15. And from Matthew 15, uh, Alford shares Matthew 15:30, which says, "Down at Jesus' feet." And Alford writes, What a blessed place is this! Oh, to be found continually at his feet. Being down at Jesus's feet is a place of healing. We read here that the lame, those who could not walk, the blind, those who could not see, the dumb, those who could not talk, the maimed, those who could not work, all were cast down and with many others at Jesus' feet. Cast down means to be thrown down in all their worthlessness and helplessness, and Jesus healed them. Being down at Jesus' feet is also a place of learning. Mary sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. The Lord in Luke 10:39, the Lord spoke of this as more needful than much survey, oh, to be found here. It is also a place of worship. Let's see, they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him, says Matthew 28:9. The disciples had met the risen Lord and he said, rejoice, verse 9, and they worshiped. And that's, that's it. It's a place of, according to Alford, it's a place of healing, a place of learning, and a place of worship. You know, at Jesus, being down at Jesus' feet. And he ends the devotional by praying, at your feet is a blessed place, Lord. Oh, to be found continually there. Amen. And, uh, that's, that's Alfred, you know, saying, you know, at the feet of Jesus we can be healed, we can learn, and we can worship. And really, that's like a three-pronged attack of discipleship. Um, we receive our healing from him by becoming his children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He can heal us. He comforts us as we go. We learn. His word teaches us. We're disciples of Jesus. We're to learn what he taught and apply it to our lives. And because Jesus is God, it's a place to worship him. So that's what we do. So it's not— it's a lovely picture of discipleship because You know, we're not just doing things that are right. We're following, you know, we're in relationship with the Lord. We're worshiping Him, we're loving Him, and we're learning from Him, and we're being healed by Him in the process. This is our faith. It's a love relationship with the Lord. It's not rules and regulations. Getting everything right. It's walking through life, trying to follow the Lord the best we can, and enjoying his presence forever, and doing the things that he would have us do, trying to meet our purpose in Christ, you know, no matter where our walk of life takes us. And that's, that's the joy that's put before us. And I can tell you, as you continually walk in this, your life becomes an adventure. Of wonder and peace and joy. And even in the midst of pain, you know, the Word of God gives you the wisdom to see the error of people's ways. The negative consequences, you know, generally we suffer because of the negative consequences we live, you know, for the actions that we, you know, we've done. But even in trials that we can't explain, we can find peace peace with the Lord. So we can correct ourselves by doing less, doing less of the things that lead to negative consequences. But even in the midst of suffering that, you know, is brought to our doorstep without our knowledge or, you know, something we couldn't prevent, we can draw on the Lord's strength and presence to see us through. And I wish Some of the people in my circle, extended circle, albeit they may be, would have known, would have known to follow the Lord and not follow the world's ways and not to put your trust in certain things of this world. And to do things that the Bible tells us are sinful. Death by misadventure because of your sin. Yikes! If you didn't sin in that way, you'd still be alive. If you, you know, and the troubles in relationships is you didn't have God at the center. You know, you didn't love one another as the Lord directed you to, and you didn't forgive one another. And it's tragic to see all around me basically. You know, no one's perfect, but the Lord guides us in the way we should go and we should listen. And we can't do it half-assed. Oop, there we go. We have to be all in for Jesus, and I will ask for forgiveness. You know, we can't, you know, it's not a game, it's not a show. We live authentically through God. The best we can, and we look out for our own hypocrisy. We try to be as transparent as possible and do that. And let no foul speech come out of your mouth, by the way. You know, I've been approached recently by people who want help, you know, claim to want help, and then you leave the door open and they never come back. And, you know, you have to wonder. It's like, you know what, there's freedom and peace in this pathway, you know, through the Lord. And you say you believe, but you don't do it. But when you don't show up, it shows what you really believe. And that was a big lesson in last night's teaching, you know. If you want to see what someone believes, look at what they do, not what they say. That shows you, you know, oh, I love the Lord, but you never go to, you know, never go to church. Um, I believe that, but you're not living according to it. You know, these are the things that we try to, you know, repent of, and we grow in it. You know, we're not going to be perfect, but, uh, the Lord guides us to go in the way we should go, and when we do, wow, things get better. Anyway, uh, still have to work though, so I'm not set free from that. But that's okay. That's the way, that's the way things are now, and they're good, you know. I'm blessed to have a job, to be physically able to work, and to be able to support myself, and to have people who love me, even if they're not perfect, you know, or, you know, aren't walking with the Lord as they should. I'm blessed by their company, and I'll seek to encourage them in the way they should go all the days of my life. Because I found Jesus, and, uh, that's all you need. You need him, but then you follow him, you know. Anyway, let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. We thank you so much for all that it is you do for us. We just pray for anyone who's listening today, that you come alongside them and their prayer requests. There's a lot of people hurting, Lord, so we pray for you to comfort them and guide them in the way they should go, and to rely on you and you only., in the days ahead. Pray for you to bless them, Lord. Um, and Lord, not for nothing, we pray for you to go before us. Um, we need your help every day. Um, we don't want to think too highly of ourselves or too lowly of ourselves, and we know that it's only because of you that we have a measure of freedom and victory and peace. Um, and so we want to be faithful to follow that, uh, your lead instead of our own. So open our eyes to the things you want us to see. Lead us in the way we should go, because all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom, Lord. Uh, Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. And we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.