1)
After these things Paul departed from
2)
And found a certain Jew named
3)
And because he was of the same craft, he
abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
4)
And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews
and the Greeks.
5)
And when Silas and Timotheus
were come from
6)
And when they opposed themselves, and
blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your
blood be upon your own heads; I am clean; from henceforth I will go unto the
Gentiles.
|
I |
t is easy for us to accuse others of
hindering us from being or living saved. However, we must face the fact that
we, alone, are our greatest hindrance. We must recognize that if we conduct our
lives as we want, we cannot and will not be saved.
In making your own decisions as to what
you feel is best for you, it is easy to fall prey to self-deception.
Unfortunately, too many choices are made without
consulting the Lord nor His will. This desire to please the flesh seals your
fate.
Realizing that we are born knowing
nothing, all our knowledge is acquired, or learned, as we rely on teaching or
our environment to direct us. Therefore, our quality of life is defined by the
quality of what we learn. In translation, if you cleave to the knowledge God
gives, you will live the victorious, overcoming life. Everything else is
inferior. However, if you choose to “mix” the things of God with those of the
World, or look solely to the World, what type of life will you have? If this is
your state, then the question is: When will you get tired of it?
By now, you should realize that the
devil has never wanted any man to listen to the Lord. This is obviously
beneficial to him. Despite all of his tricks, neither the devil nor anyone else
can make us do something we do not want to do. Since we won’t do anything with
which we don’t agree, it is crucial for us to be in agreement with God.
However, it seems as if man abandons all logic and knowledge of right and wrong
when it comes to dealing with God’s instruction!
We cannot afford to have our own
opinion or our own preferences of that with which we do or do not agree. For
those of you have left because of such opinions, you need to examine what you
now have and see if it is making you better. Be honest, if it is not, then you
need to return to that which has been tried, tested and proven—the truth that
is here at Living Faith.
Having preferences will undoubtedly
draw us away from God, whether these preferences take the form of what we
desire from God, or how we desire to be treated. Believe it or not, a common
manifestation is preferring not be around those who
condemn your lifestyle. Wanting to be comfortable, however you are, will cause
you to seek just that—comfort over truth.
We cannot get around the fact that we
must do what God says because we belong to Him. We took on His name, we are
His. Many may declare that they want to “do”: for the Lord, but whenever He
tries to prepare them, they murmur, complain and “kick against the pricks.”
What exactly does running accomplish except showing that you are not willing to
be any better, nor willing to change? An unchanged man will not be able to
eternally commune with God. Where have we gotten our liberality and our permissiveness?
Not from the Scriptures. And, if it is not from God then, obviously, it bears
the mark of the Enemy.
So, what exactly are we doing when we
say, “no” to the Lord or refuse to obey Him? In effect, we are opposing
ourselves. When we oppose the Spirit within us which has been given to lead and
guide us, how far are we going to get? Those of you who have walked away—rather
than walking to freedom—have gone right back to the
condition from which the Lord set you free. What kind of sense does it make to
lock yourself back into a cage?
Like it or not, many of you have run
from your anointing! In bringing you here to be saved, the Lord anointed you to
fulfill a position in this place. Your orders are not transferable—they cannot
be fulfilled anywhere else! Consequently, your best efforts to do so will leave
you “spinning your wheels” and opposing yourself.
You are going to have to get your
out-of-order, out-of-control life back in order and under control. Don’t be
foolish: just because you are someplace where you are not told you are wrong
does not make you any less wrong. It’s not where you go which determines
whether you are right or wrong, but it is God’s Word—and no matter where you
go, you cannot change God’s Word.
It is an error to think that the attitude
which caused you to leave will disappear just because you have left. Obviously,
you cannot remain righteous harboring such attitudes. Many of you have even
tried to lure others away with negative accusations of this ministry to justify
your own actions and lessen your own conviction. Remember, however, that it was
never the saints who did the persecuting in the Bible. Lest you be fooled, this
issue is about salvation—not church membership. Face it, your current
membership is not leading you to be saved—not necessarily because of the
church, but because of you! Stop making another’s church look bad because of
your disobedience.
In that many of you are allowed to go
out, when you got where you wanted to go, you acknowledged that you were not
getting the truth. Therefore, instead of returning and bring others to the
truth, you chose to get comfortable and relax. Understand that living for the
Lord has never been a “comfortable” proposition. Why? Because we need to be
reminded of how precious our salvation is.
Let’s have some spiritual integrity. Ask
God yourself where you need to be and what you are to be doing, and then make
that step. Then, you may finally be able to “stop opposing yourself.” However,
if He tells you not to come, please don’t—for all you would do is wreak havoc. And know that if He tells you no, it would be
just for this reason—He knows.