Saturday, August 19, 2023

May Your Lampstand not be Removed

Nothing is too hard for us when we know Christ Who lives in us has a purpose for everything directing our path and redirecting our path when we stray to follow our own will.
We are not looking for Christ to do our will but for Him to tell us His will for us.
Ephesians 1:11
"11 In Him we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE of Him who works all things in accordance with the plan of His will,"
As born-again believers, we are chosen for the work He has ordained for us to do after we have trusted Christ and He has changed us into a new creation.
1 John 5:14-15
"14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."
The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth as we seek Him and He will direct our path as long as our will is according to His.
God will not hear the prayers that are not His will, He will ignore us until we seek His face for His will.
James 4:2-4 "…2 You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures. 4 You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.…"
There are those who would deceive others into believing they can demand things from God and expect the mere proclamation that you have it is enough to motivate God to do our will. These people are of the devil and focus continually on worldly desires and the pleasures of this life. I fear for those who live like this, they cannot expect to have a relationship with Christ on our own terms.
Psalm 66:18
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
Those who teach such false teachings will be provided with what they want through the work of the devil but will find themselves in hell if they will not repent and trust Christ.
Romans 8:28
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
If someone seeks their own will and purpose they cannot expect to hear from God although they may hear from the devil to make the willful one believe they have been blessed when what they received from the devil will destroy their relationship with God and others.
2 Corinthians 11:14 "
No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."
The devil can make a person feel ecstatic with happiness for a time until he unleashes the real purpose of the devil to ruin them. He will make what you have received from him look like it was from God but it will bring disaster in their souls of spiritual deadness.
We must always seek the WILL of Christ, not our own and we must confess when we have sought our own desires that differ from the purposes of God.
Revelation 2:3-5 "…3 Without growing weary, you have persevered and endured many things for the sake of My name. 4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. 5 Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.