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Friday, May 9,
2008
Bound and Determined
Matthew 18:18 Verily I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever
ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (KJV)
All this week we have discussed personal
responsibility with the Lord; you desire and request a response from the
Lord concerning your petitions, the Lord requests things in return from you
as well. The words of a believer should be spirit and should be bringing
forth life; while words of a non believer will keep them in bondage, bound
by sin and unbelief. One of the areas that many seek the Lord in is the
area of forgiveness, asking the Lord to pardon their transgression and set
them free from that bondage. One of the things the Lord requests in return
is that you also forgive others, loosing yourself from grudges, a root of
bitterness that not only defiles you, but many times by your words those
around you are getting rained on with your bitter water also. Your
forgiveness is a two-way street; so if you truly wish to receive
forgiveness from the Father then it is something you need to be willing to
do yourself, forgiving others that have trespassed against you.
Matthew 6:12-15 And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors. (13) And lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the
glory, for ever. Amen. (14) For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you: (15) But if ye forgive not men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (KJV)
Do you feel weighed down at times and
sense you are not moving forward in your walk with the Lord? Does it seem
like you are being harassed by things from your past, something you just
can’t seem to shake? When you have sinned and fallen short, are you as
forgiving to others as you desire your heavenly Father to be with you? We
basically have a contingency contract with our Father, with what measure
you put out is measured back to you; or as some point out these days, what
goes around comes around. So the question now is, are you just going for a
ride on the not so merry go round, where it seems you end up in the same
place and not able to move forward? Your willingness to forgive others can
loose you from this bondage and set you free from these petty grudges you
have been bound and determined to hang onto.
Hebrews 12:1-3 Wherefore seeing we also
are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run
with patience the race that is set before us, (2) Looking unto Jesus the
author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand
of the throne of God. (3) For consider him that endured such contradiction
of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
(KJV)
The cloud of witnesses that we are
surrounded with is raining down on us in the form of living waters,
examples we have in the Bible of those that learned to be overcomers
despite the contradiction and shame. How many of these people would have
accomplished what the Lord was asking of them if all they did was fight and
argue with worldly people and try to find ways to get even? How far do you
think you will progress in your walk if you keep this same mindset? Simply
put, by holding grudges you are in essence in a holding pattern yourself
until you are ready to let go of these things from the heart so that you
can return to the path of life and run the course the Lord desires for you.
Let us truly consider someone that endured contradiction, and Lord willing
it will ease your wearied mind.
Luke 23:33-34 And when they were come to
the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the
malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. (34) Then
said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they
parted his raiment, and cast lots. (KJV)
Have you been nailed to a cross and left
for dead, this after being beaten and bloodied? Have you been humiliated by
a group of people that despised the message of love and hope you were
bringing to a fallen dead world? Oh you may be acting like you have been;
and these grudges you have been holding onto, do they even begin to compare
to what our Lord endured? For those that have or are overweight physically,
we all know what a burden it is to carry things around that are unwanted
and unhealthy. The more we pack on the more it slows us down and can
eventually lead to death if left unchecked. The reason many end up
overweight is because they did not closely monitor what they were eating
but allowed some unhealthy habits and foods into the temple. Spiritually
this is what happens when we hold onto things and allow bitterness into the
heart, it is like junk food that clogs the arteries and can stop one in
their tracks. Take out the garbage people, and leave it in the dump.
Rightly dividing the word of truth so that you can discard the excess
spiritual weight that easily besets or harasses you, and run the endurance
race that leads to an eternal life with our Father.
1 Corinthians 9:25-27 And every man that
striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to
obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. (26) I therefore so
run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: (27)
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any
means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (KJV)
Have you ever seen boxers? Those that are
good at their profession are the ones that are well trained and in good
shape so that they can go the distance. Those that are not trained, or
haven’t properly prepared themselves, don’t make in this profession but end
up on their backside. Fighters that are overweight have distinct
disadvantage as well, because they will easily tire out and not be able to
go the distance. One of the things that will tire a boxer out quickly is
swinging and missing into the air, not hitting the target but expelling a
lot of energy with no positive results. The same holds true when one
listens to the prince of the power of the air, swinging at imaginary
targets in our mind and bogged down by bitterness and grudges of things
from our past. So what are you meditating on today, right now? Are you in
the Lord’s ring being trained up in the things that are based on truth or
are you shadow boxing in the imaginary realm of the enemy?
Psalms 19:12-14 Who can understand his
errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. (13) Keep back thy servant also
from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be
upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. (14) Let the
words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy
sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. (KJV)
Some of the secret faults that keep a
Christian in bondage at times come in the form of forgiveness, or their
unwillingness to forgive others. Although it may not be always apparent to
the outward man, the Lord sees the inward motive and will not grant
forgiveness our way until we are willing to forgive others. Remember if you
allow these things to overcome you then you are brought in bondage to them
until you are willing to loose them and let them go. So in order to receive
forgiveness you need to be willing to give it; like the word of God says,
give and it shall be given.
1 John 1:6-9 If we say that we have
fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
(7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from
all sin. (8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (KJV)
The darkness the devil wants you to walk
in can manifest itself in the form of bitterness, your unwillingness to
forgive and forget. It’s when we choose to walk in light that the
fellowship is restored again and this root can be pulled out and discarded.
Your stubbornness, pity parties, root of bitterness have kept you bound in
the realm of the flesh rather than being loosed so that you can stand fast
in the liberty in Christ and not entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Today instead of being bound and determined, allow yourself to be loosed in
Christ and determined to walk in the liberty and light He has for you.
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