This was a lesson I wish I had learned much earlier in my life. I have been myself, but where I failed was in agonizing over others who didn't like me or tried to make me over into their idea of what they thought I should be. I am not talking about sin, but just personality that God gave me.
The day I realized it doesn't matter if anyone likes me, was the day I was free to be what God intended for me.
This realization actually served to help me take my mind off of myself and more fully on Christ and others. It also helped me to move forward after mistakes and sins rather than cogitating on what was in the past, I could move forward to the future.
If I had any advice to give to someone who might want to know, it would be the words of God:
Philippians 3:13-15 "…13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have laid hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus. 15 All of us who are mature should embrace this point of view. And if you think differently about some issue, God will reveal this to you as well.…"
Isaiah 43:18-19 " 18"Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. 19 "Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.…"
Dwelling on the past can keep us chained to what is not real, but imagined. It can also keep us chained to people who do not have our best interest at heart. We must move on from the past, sometimes even those in the past that do not help us more forward in our walk with Christ.
Anyone who hinders our forward progress with the Lord, must take a back seat to everything God has for us today.
Still learning but thankfully progressing!
On another thread I was reading was the mention of the proliferation of occult practices through which demons are entering, namely "Yoga" in the church.
One way evil spirits are gaining entrance into church gatherings is not only through Occult practices but also through disobedience when it comes to His principles other than the occult.
When sin becomes a normal course within the church gathering, not only being ignored but even accepted, then is when the demons begin to infiltrate in mass.
If anyone would question this, lets take a look at what has happened in our "Christian nation" over the past 60 years. Slowly little by little sin has been allowed to infiltrate church gatherings without challenge. When sin is not dealt with, it grows, so much so that there is a point to which there is no turning back to righteousness. The gatherings for the most part have become almost completely secular with overtones of Christianity but not the Christianity of the Bible.
The attendees become so accustomed to the acceptance of sin, they begin to believe it is unloving to confront it or to discipline it, and yet that's what Christ commanded us to do.
There are many believers now who have accepted divorce and remarriage as a choice, even blessed by God.
Because of this acceptance of divorce and remarriage, the next step has been taken to accept shacking up outside of marriage. Because the people don't care to know what God says about these matters they take up the attitudes of the world toward sin, making excuses for their sin while mocking and demeaning those who speak against it.
Romans 1:32 "…31 They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them."
John 12:42-44 "42 Nevertheless, many of the leaders believed in Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue. 43 For they loved praise from men more than praise from God. 44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in Me does not believe in Me alone, but in the One who sent Me.…"
Romans 8:13 "12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.…"
1 Corinthians 5:12-13 "…12 What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”"
Matthew 18:15-16 "15 If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’…"
1 Corinthians 5:4-6 "…4 When you are gathered in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus, 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?…"
1 Corinthians 5:6
"Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?"
There are many people now who "pride" themselves on how tolerant they are toward the sinner, believing if they are friendly, ignoring the sin, the one who sins will want Christ and turn from their sin. This thinking comes from psychology and has no place in the church. We love the brethren by telling the truth about their sin.
God said that being friendly to a wicked man does not turn them from their wickedness. This "lifestyle evangelism" as some would call it has watered down the impact of the gospel and truth itself.
Isaiah 26:10 "10 Though the wicked is shown favor, He does not learn righteousness; He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, And does not perceive the majesty of the LORD."
Matthew 18:15-18
15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."
When there is sin in the body of believers, then everyone is responsible to confront that sin, restore the brother if they listen and stop the sin or reject them if they will not, even putting them out. The prayer for them is that they return one day restored, but not because the brethren accepted his sin, rather because the brethren stood with God, praying for a changed heart that the sinning one would confess and return an obedient child.
Our churches today are rampant with sin because those in the body think it is the job of the leadership alone to discipline, at least that's the excuse they use. However, everyone in the body is responsible to deal with sin when there is a clear violation of God's Word.
Families are no different, when we play with sin, pretend it is alright, never rebuking it, then the sin demolishes family values at every turn. Mankind is weak, we tend to go along with whatever others are accepting to be accepted ourselves.
If someone within the body refuses to stop their sinning, then the whole church is responsible to put that person out, while praying for them to return with a different attitude toward the sin and toward God.One of repentance and grief over their sin.
When someone in a family is sinning it is the responsibility of ALL the believers in that family to withdraw from the one who is rebellious while sending loving letters of rebuke that they might be restored through confession and brokenness over sin.
We don't see this practiced much anymore, mainly because people are afraid of the rejection from the sinner they might experience, but not only that, the rejection of the whole group is often the case for those who stand for truth.
Psalm 1:4-6 "…4 The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.…"
One of the greatest blessings for the one who sins is to be disciplined by those who love them and to be restored to living righteously because of it.
Those who discipline are the ones who love. Those who refuse to discipline are those who are more concerned about their own comfort than they are about the eternal soul of their brother or sister in Christ.
Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, or lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
Proverbs 12:1 “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.”
Proverbs 13:24 “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”
Hebrews 12:11 “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
Revelation 3:19
"Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent."
Proverbs 6:23
"For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,"
Proverbs 25:28
"A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls."
Proverbs 13:1
"A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke."
