Possessing the Treasure

By Mike Ratliff

To My Lord Jesus Christ who changes, inspires, leads and empowers me – All for His Glory

To Ina and Misti – your Spiritual Maturity is an inspiration to me and your encouragement is always perfectly timed

To Mom and Dad – thank you for your unwavering support for me with your encouragement and prayers

To Julie, Tracy, Ken, Betsy and Katie – your diligent pursuit of God followed by your seamless obedience to Him was used by God to point this book in the right direction

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3:1-3

Possessing the Treasure

Copyright © 2005 by Johnny Michael Ratliff

Scripture quotations marked (MSG) are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright ©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible^®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents. 4

Foreword. 6

Introduction. 9

What is the Treasure?. 11

Obedience. 17

Real Power. 23

A Pure Conscience. 28

Holiness. 34

Hearing God.. 41

God Prepares the Way. 46

God Leads the Way. 58

God Provides the Way. 69

Spiritual Markers. 83

God Rolls Away Our Reproach. 96

God Fights Our Battles. 108

God Demolishes Our Strongholds. 131

Battles may be won, but the War isn’t Over. 152

Renewing the Covenant 172

Genuine Humility vs. Self-Confidence. 183

Love for God vs. Love for the World. 198

Repentance from sin vs. Willful Disobedience. 205

Devotion to God’s Glory vs. Devotion to Self-gratification 210

Continual Prayer vs. Self-focus. 215

Selfless Love vs. Hypocrisy. 222

Separation from the World vs. Conformity to the World. 226

Spiritual Growth vs. Backsliding. 235

Obedient Living vs. Walking in Rebellion. 241

The Kingdom of God. 246

Conclusion. 258

Glossary. 260

Foreword

After I learned to walk in the Spirit I was overwhelmed with joy. Before that I always assumed walking in the Spirit was either unattainable for the likes of me or possibly something which would eventually happen when I matured enough. I had glimpses of it when God used me as I obediently served Him. I would have wonderful worship experiences at times as well. However, those were isolated incidents.

In the summer and fall of 2004 God drew me into a much closer walk with Him. I didn’t know it at time, but I was actually learning how to walk the walk. Over the next several months God changed me from the inside out as I learned to seek His presence as often as I could. It was during this time God called me to write “Walking the Walk by Faith.” That book was a labor of love for me. I took everything God had revealed to me about the process of becoming a Spirit-led believer and wrote out the progression He gave me. It was an awesome experience.

In early February 2005 it was finished. I was amazed I knew exactly when to quit writing. I tried to add more, but God stopped me over and over again from tinkering with it. Over the next several weeks I tried to start “my next book.” However, I kept coming up against blank walls or I would find myself writing a repeat version of “Walking the Walk by Faith.” I quit trying to write and concentrated on getting my first book published.

When Publish America informed me they were going to publish my book I was ecstatic and humbled at the same time. Over the next few weeks I didn’t think much about my next book, but I knew there would be one. In early March 2005 I started praying for inspiration and wisdom. One morning during my quiet time I read a passage from the book of Joshua which hit me like a sledge hammer.

“Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:6-9)

Part of walking in the Spirit is learning to hear God and discerning his will. The impact of reading those verses got my complete attention. I asked if this passage was the source or background of the message He wanted me to write about. That whole day and over the next several days I prayed about the message. I asked other believers close to me what they thought of that theme and applying it to walking the walk. I got very positive responses to it and quite a bit of insight from them as well.

As usual I looked at the challenge to research, plan and write this book and became overwhelmed with dismay. I am not adequate to do this. There are other writers godlier and more mature than me who should write this. However, I have learned we should always proceed when God says to.

The research, planning and writing of this book has been a tremendous challenge for me. However, I have fallen in Love with the Lord even more as He took me through the learning process so I could expound on His message for the Church. Before I wrote this I had a vague idea of what “treasure” was. However, I have learned God wants all of His children to know what the treasure is and how to possess it. In the Book of Joshua we have a parallel or “type” message where the “Promised Land” is the “treasure”. For the New Testament believer the “treasure” is very different, however, the spiritual truths found in the story of the children of Israel taking possession of the Promised Land lend themselves to compelling comparisons and contrast.

This book, I pray, will make known God’s will for you so you will seek the promised treasure with your whole Heart.

Yours in Christ

Mike Ratliff

Introduction

I learned the hard way spiritual maturity is not something to be taken for granted. The Lord is very good at this spiritual growth process. He knows us better than we will ever know ourselves. Over and over again I would have wonderful spiritual experiences which would be immediately followed by ugly or fleshly responses to circumstances or situations which was perceived, by me, to be unfair. I would be devastated of course. I would seek the Lord’s face and cry to Him for forgiveness and wisdom.

Over time I learned what was going on. I had assumed I had reached a level of spiritual maturity where these things were past, way past. Wrong! Also, as I completed Walking the Walk by Faith I found the time, effort and concentration to write it had actually taken me out of some of the spiritual habits I employed to stay close to Him. Over the next several weeks I went through rest and renewal as I abstained from writing and sought closeness with my Lord. It was during this time the Lord started showing me how deep the subject of spiritual growth really is and what was actually causing these failures.

No matter how mature we become we can mature more. No matter how godly we become we can become godlier. There is no “arriving.” However, if we dedicate ourselves to living for God’s glory we will mature and grow to unimaginable levels of spirituality.

Walking the Walk by Faith is geared primarily towards taking the reader from Baby Christian and Soul-led Behavior into Adult Christian and Spirit-led Behavior. Possessing the Treasure takes the reader through the Adult Christian stage. If you have not read Walking the Walk by Faith I highly recommend you read it first.

From the time I became a believer to now I have heard over and over how the godly will be rewarded when they stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Those believers who did not dedicate themselves to God’s glory will not. I never really gave it a lot of thought though. I was really after pleasing my Lord above all else. However, Jesus himself taught we should build up our treasure in Heaven so our Hearts would be focused on godly things rather than worldly things. He also taught the fruit which is produced and becomes manifest in our lives comes from the treasure of our Hearts. This book is a study of spiritual treasure and how to possess it. We will dig into the Bible using Joshua 1-10 as a “type” of the believer’s journey from Soul-led religiosity to Spirit-led walking by faith. We will look at the Fruits of Salvation and their role in becoming wealthy in God’s Grace. Finally, we will look at the Kingdom of God and what it has to do with the Treasure. Let’s pursue the truth together!

By-the-way, there are many terms used throughout Possessing the Treasure which may be new to the reader. Please check out the Glossary in the back of the book for any word or term for which you need clarification. Please forgive me if I have left anything out you have questions about.

Mike Ratliff

What is the Treasure?

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

Treasure has always fascinated me. As a boy, I loved to read stories and watch movies about people who find buried treasure. As an adult, the idea of possessing a fortune is compelling. Of course, that treasure is worldly and material. I have found material possessions don’t last. Money doesn’t last. Cars wear out. Houses get old and need renovation. Clothes wear out. The computer I am typing on right now is obsolete. It makes no sense to look to possessions for fulfillment, yet most people do. Is this what Christians are supposed to do?

If we study the verses above we see clearly the treasure Jesus wants us to value is not worldly wealth. I have heard numerous preachers expound their “health, wealth and prosperity” gospels to eager listeners. They teach God wants all believers to be free from suffering and be wealthy in the World’s goods. I have read the bible cover to cover many times and I can not find anywhere in those sacred pages where God places material wealth above spiritual maturity. Yes, He blessed Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He blessed Job. He blessed David and Solomon. He blesses all of us, but that is not what we are to desire above all.

We can use Matthew 6:19-21 to eliminate wealth in the World’s goods as “the treasure.” We can see in those verses where the real treasure is. Where is it? It is in heaven. We may say, “What about now? I need to pay my bills now!” If we are in that frame of mind then our focus is wrong.

The Spirit-led believer is focused on God and His will. The Soul-led believer is focused on the here and now and gives God time as they see fit. The Spirit-led believer walks in the Spirit or according to the Spirit or by the Spirit. The Soul-led believer walks according to the flesh. The Spirit-led believer lives in the World, but is not part of it. The Soul-led believer lives in the World and is doing everything he or she can to conform to it.

If our focus is on the here and now then we are Soul-led. If our focus is on God and His glory then we’re Spirit-led. If we are Soul-led we want our treasure now in physical form. If we are Spirit-led we know our treasure is spiritual and awaits.

We still haven’t defined what the treasure is though. Let’s start our search in the book of Proverbs.

“There is desirable treasure, and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man squanders it. He who follows righteousness and mercy finds life, righteousness and honor.” (Proverbs 21:20-21)

These two verses are an interesting contrast. First the writer, Solomon, presents godly treasure as extremely valuable and desirable, but the foolish ignore it or squander it. What is it? It is life, righteousness and honor. This life is eternal life because it is associated with righteousness. What about honor? This speaks of eternal blessings in heaven based on how we live this life now. In some cases we can experience a foretaste of those blessings in this life, but the emphasis is on the eternal. The Spirit-led, godly believer will receive rewards and honor in heaven. Is eternal life, righteousness and honor treasure? The Spirit-led says, “Absolutely!” The Soul-led says, “Yeah, but what about now?” The Spirit-led are the wise believers who value this treasure. The Soul-led are the foolish who squander it. We should ask ourselves which we are shouldn’t we?

So far, the treasure we have looked at is future. What about now? Do the righteous accumulate any treasure now? Let’s look at a statement made by our Lord.

“Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heartbrings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment.” (Matthew 12:34-36)

So, we do have treasure now! What is it? Jesus says what proceeds out of our mouths comes from the treasure of our Heart. What does that mean? Obviously, the godly have built up good treasure in their Hearts while the ungodly have built up evil treasure there. This implies the way we live our lives, Spirit-led or Soul-led, builds up a treasury of goodness or evil in our Hearts. All good treasure comes from being Spirit-led. All evil treasure comes from walking according to the flesh. This statement by our Lord is comparing our spiritual maturity to treasure. If we become godly, Spirit-led believers then we not only are laying up treasure in heaven, but are also laying it up in the treasury of our Hearts.

Spiritual Treasure is:

Eternal Life
Righteousness
Honor
Godly Character

Is there more? Well, “Godly Character” is huge. It covers all aspects of being a Spirit-led believer. The spiritual fruit which comes from living a life dedicated to the God’s glory produces Godly Fruit. This fruit’s building blocks are made up of the Fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians 5:16-26 we get the following list.

Love
Joy
Peace
Longsuffering (Patience)
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness (Meekness)
Self-control

The Fruit of the Spirit is produced in the Heart of the believers who submit to the Lordship of Christ. These building blocks make up the fruit of salvation which is listed below. This list is the “treasury of the Heart” which produces good works and good words. There is not one thing on this list that can be manufactured or faked by a non-believer. This list is the parts or blocks that make up Christ-likeness. Christ-likeness describes character that is godly and is marked by Holiness.

Love for God (cf. Psalm 42:1; Psalm 73:25)
Repentance from Sin (cf. 2 Timothy 2:20-26)
Genuine Humility (cf. Psalm 51:17; James 4:6-10)
Devotion to God’s Glory (cf. Psalm 105:3; Psalm 155:1)
Continual Prayer (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Selfless Love (cf. 1 John 3:14)
Separation from the World (cf. 1 John 2:15-17)
Spiritual Growth (cf. Luke 8:15)
Obedient Living (cf. Matthew 7:21)

Godly character is the part of the treasure we experience right now if we live Spirit-led lives. The Soul-led do not do this. They call Jesus Lord, but they do things their own way. The Spirit-led submit entirely to His Lordship. As a result the Holy Spirit produces this godly fruit in their Hearts. Godly character will never be developed without it.

There is one more aspect of the treasure we need to look at before moving on. In a parable Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to treasure.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44)

If we are part of the Kingdom of God we have a priceless treasure. Who is part of the Kingdom of God? All genuine believers are part of the Kingdom. However, many squander their treasure. Who does this? The Soul-led do that. The Spirit-led treasure the treasure. Being part of the Kingdom of God means possessing Eternal Life.

Remember, Spiritual Treasure is:

Eternal Life
Righteousness
Honor
Godly Character

We now have an idea of what the treasure is. How do we possess it? We must do some self-examination. Let’s ask ourselves if we are Spirit-led or Soul-led. Then we should ask God to show us the truth. If our focus is on self-gratification then we are Soul-led. If our prayer life is shallow or non-existent then we are Soul-led. If we resent being asked to serve our Lord then we are Soul-led. If we would rather be rich and famous than godly then we are Soul-led. The Spirit-led know they are. They know because godly character makes up how they live their life right now. They have this character because God has changed them by granting them repentance as they submitted to the Lordship of Christ. They already possess the good treasure in their Hearts. They are laying up great treasure in Heaven.

How about you? The rest of this book is all about the process of becoming a possessor of the treasure. I pray you will see treasuring godly treasure as vital. The digging we do in God’s word will be part of the process of becoming Spirit-led. The more we expose ourselves to the Truth of God’s word the more we change if we work with God in applying those truths to our lives. This treasure hunt is serious business. It isn’t for the slacker or the one who squanders it. If you are seeking the treasure but aren’t willing to take on the challenge of change you will not find it. Before going to the next chapter please ask God to reveal His Truth to you. Ask Him to change you according to His will. Possessing the Treasure is only accomplished by those who have allowed God to change them from Soul-led to Spirit-led. Only those who diligently abide in Christ continuously build up their treasury. I pray that will be you.

Obedience

After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them–the children of Israel. (Joshua 1:1-2)

I know many of you groaned deeply when you read the title of this chapter. However, think about it. Parents don’t normally reward their children if they are disobedient. It’s a shame that our Western culture has deteriorated to the point where we think we “deserve” honor and reward or we are “entitled” to wealth, health and prosperity.

It appears many believers feel they deserve Heaven and all of its rewards simply because their name is on some church roll. They treat God as if He is the interloper intruding on their lives with His demands for godliness and holiness.

The Bible is very clear about this principle though. Obedience to God is not a request, but a requirement. It is not optional. Without obedience religious people go about their religiosity as if this somehow pleases God. When King Saul disobeyed God he thought it would be okay if he substituted religion for obedience.

“So Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22)

Samuel was telling Saul religion is no substitute for believing God and following through with obedience. I know many who call themselves Christians are not happy with that truth, but that does not mean it still isn’t the truth. Our Hearts are desperately wicked and depraved. We are easily deceived into thinking our common sense and experiences are just as good as God’s Wisdom. However, the first step in “Possessing the Treasure” is to leave behind the concept that we either somehow deserve the treasure or we can earn it with our “good works.”

The children of Israel lived in slavery in Egypt for 400 years. The Lord lifted up Moses to lead them out of slavery to the Promised Land. The process God used to gain their freedom devastated Egypt with plagues and death. After they left Egypt they went into the wilderness of Sinai to Mount Horeb where God gave Moses the Law and instituted the religious system of sacrifices and festivals. They then traveled to the border of the Promised Land where God had them send in twelve spies to view the land and bring back a report so they would know what a wonderful gift God was giving them.

Ten of the spies came back with a bad report saying there was no way they could defeat the inhabitants who lived there. This caused much anguish and fear to come upon the people. The other two, Caleb and Joshua, said something completely different.

“But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, “a land which flows with milk and honey.’ Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.”” (Numbers 14:6-9)

God had miraculously brought the Israelites out of bondage, fed them in the desert, provided water to drink where there wasn’t any, and now commanded them to believe Him. He was calling for an act of faith. Except for Moses and perhaps some of the priesthood only two others believed God and were ready to obey Him by taking possession of the Land. The rest wanted to go back to Egypt.

Think of Egypt as bondage to sin. Those in Christ used to be slaves to sin. When they came to Christ they were freed from that bondage. However, unless a believer learns to mature and become Spirit-led he or she will still seek fulfillment apart from God. The Spirit-led know God is the only source of fulfillment. The Soul-led are constantly seeking to go back to Egypt. When God calls for obedience they look at it as impossible so they don’t even try. Every time a believer disobeys God their Heart becomes a little harder. Their Heart has built up a hard or callous layer between their conscience and their Soul. The Hard-Hearted are full of unbelief. The Hard-Hearted believer is still in bondage to fleshly desires. There will be no stepping out on faith for them. They want the Treasure, but they want to have it on their own terms.

Caleb and Joshua, on the other hand, believed God and were ready to go into the land and take it. They knew God was with them so how could they lose? They wanted no part of going back to Egypt. They knew that the snare of fleshly desires was just that. Also, they understood that God’s call for obedience would never be to do things they could do themselves. God calls His children to obey Him by stepping out on faith to accomplish things they can’t do by themselves. Believers are called to obedience to do what can only be done as God empowers them to do so. Joshua and Caleb represent the Spirit-led believer who abides in Christ.

Notice the discrepancy in numbers. God sent over twelve spies and only two are faithful and believe God. It is a sad thing that the vast majority of those calling themselves Christians are fakes or they are Soul-led. Jesus himself said it:

“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Becausenarrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:12-14 Emphasis Mine)

The spies gave their report and all adults except those two refused to believe. God was so angry with them He nearly wiped them out.

“Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land, those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the LORD. But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.” (Numbers 14:36-38)

The ten spies who brought back the bad report died on the spot. God told the people that none except Joshua and Caleb would enter the land of promise. The rest would die off in the wilderness after wandering for forty years.

Interestingly, the next day the people attempt to “repent” and enter the land. However, God is not with them. It’s too late. They are attacked and many are killed. They cried many tears. They pleaded for God to help them. Then they tried to do the impossible and were defeated.

This sorry story is a good parallel to how the Soul-led try to live before the Lord. When He calls them to obedience they refuse. Then they feel guilty and try to obey, but they have no help from God so they fail. They never seem to get closer to God. They never seem to get past besetting sins. The problem is they are not living lives which walk by faith. They walk by sight alone. There is a great deal of repentance with tears, but no real change in obedience.

The Spirit-led do not have this problem because they DO walk by faith not by sight. When God calls them to obedience they stand up and do it knowing full well the Lord is with them. They are walking in repentance with joy, that is, God has granted them repentance so they are free of the bondage of besetting sins. They are Abiding in Christ and are completely submitted to His Lordship. When called to do the impossible they pray for the Lord to do it through them then obediently step out on faith.

Forty years later the only people left of the generation that departed Egypt are Caleb and Joshua. The adults now were the children when the events in Numbers 13 and 14 took place. They have left the wilderness and have entered the area east of the Jordan River. Moses led the people in defeating the two kingdoms who opposed them on the way, but he has died leaving Joshua in charge.

It is time to take possession of the land of promise. What is the first thing God does?

“After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them–the children of Israel.” (Joshua 1:1-2)

God commands Joshua and the people to arise and obey Him. Notice also that along with the command He gives a promise. What is it? He is giving the land to them. All they have to do is obey Him.

Nothing has changed. When God calls us to obey Him we should immediately do so. When we do that He will be with us. The Soul-led believer has to learn to submit to the Lordship of Christ. The process of becoming Spirit-led starts right there. As the believer diligently pursues the Presence of God and seeks to stay in the center of God’s will something miraculous happens. God will grant them Repentance. What that means is God will change their Heart, making it more tender, and transform them from Soul-led to Spirit-led. This process is not immediate. It will take time and untold instances of obedience. Over this period the believer will notice that their entire value system has changed. They have become Spirit-led, not perfect or self-righteous, but a person who is walking by faith not by sight. Sin is dealt with quickly through true repentance. Their faith will become built up more and more through each act of obedience. The treasury of their Heart is being built up. They will become godlier and godlier. They are laying up treasure in Heaven. They are learning to possess the Treasure which starts with Obedience.

Real Power

Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:6-9)

When we think of powerful people World Leaders or Corporate CEOs come to mind. I remember when my daughter Misti was a pre-teenager she said, “I want to be rich and famous!” I laughed and replied, “I would rather be rich and not famous.” She admonished me by saying, “If no one knew you were rich then you would be selfish and not help anyone.” That really struck me.

The believer is called to “be” all kinds of things that are very hard to do for even short periods of time. For example, we are called to be Holy, be perfect, be full of the spirit, be Glad, be full of courage, be strong, be obedient, be merciful, etc. I don’t know about you, but I can’t do any of those very long. In fact, before I learned to walk in the Spirit I was a complete failure at being a powerful believer. After I submitted to the Yoke of Christ and learned to Abide in Him I found that I had been doing it wrong all along. God doesn’t expect us to be able to be Christ-like by our diligence, will power or any thing we bring to the table. We can’t do it and He knows it.

So how can God expect us to become Christ-like if we can’t do it? He doesn’t, but He does command us to do the one thing that will change us so that His power will become manifest in our lives. We are commanded to believe Him then obey Him.

Look at the passage I placed at the beginning of this chapter. Here it is:

“⁶Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. ⁸This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. ⁹Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:6-9)

A casual read of Joshua chapter 1 might give one the impression that God is giving Joshua a pep talk. It seems He is trying to show Joshua all he will be able to do if would just try hard. However a close examination of these verses reveal that God is not trying to get Joshua to see what he can do, but what God is going to do through him if Joshua believes, obeys and remains faithful.

In verse 6 God gives Joshua the command to be strong and of good courage. Then He tells why. In verse 7 God again commands him to be strong and very courageous, but this time it is so He will be able to be obedient to the law which will result in him prospering in all that he does. In verse 8 God tells Joshua how to stay obedient to the law and what the outcome will be if he does it right. Finally in verse 9 God tells Joshua where the real power comes from so he will be able to obey God.

Okay, what is Joshua’s part? He must believe God then step out on faith. The stepping out on faith and keeping the Law is being strong and courageous. What else is he to do? In verse 8 God tells him what will bring the changes into his life so he will be able to have the faith to do all this. What is it? It is to stay in the Law, mediate on it day and night so it will saturate his life. When that happens he will naturally walk in it. When he walks according the law then God will be with him and prosper him in all things God calls him to do.

God does not change. He still calls all believers to be strong and courageous by believing Him and stepping out on faith. God knows we can’t do it ourselves. There is a New Testament parallel passage to this.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2)

These two verses command us to live lives that are living sacrifices by not being conformed to this world and by being transformed by the renewing of our minds. When we do this we will live in the light of God’s mercy and know His will. Being a living sacrifice means giving up our rights and submitting to the Lordship of Christ. When we do that we will naturally become separate from the world’s ways. The real change comes by the transforming process of renewal of our minds. What that means is saturating our lives with Jesus, his Word and His ways. When we give ourselves to Christ this way we are abiding in Him.

In John 15 Jesus tells His disciples what it means to Abide in Him.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:5-8)

All believers are called to become Spirit-led, Christ-like disciples by abiding in Him. To do that we must submit to His Lordship, present our bodies as living sacrifices to Him, then saturate our lives with Him.

We are all called to the same level of obedience that Joshua was called to. When we submit to the Lordship of Christ and become transformed into Spirit-led believers then we have the power to be obedient and powerful in the Lord. With each act of obedience to the Lord we possess more of the Treasure.

The real power source for the Spirit-led believer is the presence of God. Many of you may be saying something like, “I want this, but how can I know that God will accept me and give me the power to be godly?” I know how you feel. I am no more worthy of God’s blessings than anyone else. I struggle. I fail. I lose focus and sin. I have learned, however, God is not surprised when we blow it. He is ready and willing to forgive us, take us back, and clean us up as long as we humble ourselves before Him as we cry out to Him. The next step is huge. We must draw near unto Him. When we do this He will draw near unto us.

^“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:7-10)

As we humble ourselves before our Lord He will lift us up and restore us. How awesome! For me this part of possessing the Treasure is precious. It is incredible to know that my Lord simply wants me to be humble before Him so He can transform me into a usable, humble servant.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

We can do nothing good by ourselves, but when the Lord is with us we can do anything He wants us to do. That is Real Power. Only the Spirit-led possess this power. Only the Spirit-led possess the treasure. With each act of obedience and submission to the Lordship of Christ the Spirit-led have more treasure laid up in Heaven and in their Hearts.

A Pure Conscience

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:1-7)

A few weeks ago police in Wichita, Kansas captured a man who they believe is the serial killer, BTK. They have been looking for this killer for decades. The man they arrested was actually a city employee who police say was hiding in plain sight all these years. Right after the arrest I read an article about the FBI profile for BTK. All my spiritual sensors clicked on when I read the part that stated serial killers have no conscience. They view those who have healthy consciences as weak. They live lives with no sense of right or wrong. They seek fulfillment through self-gratification no matter who it harms. They have no remorse for anything they have done.

Remorseless people became that way by searing their conscience. Before antiseptics wounds were sterilized by cauterization. That means burning the wound with a hot iron which would close it and create a burn scar. The skin that would grow back would be thick scar tissue that was not as sensitive as clear skin because nerve endings were burned away. Searing the conscience is done in stages. No one is born that way.

The conscience was created in the Spirit of Man by God. Its role is huge. It attaches itself to the highest standard it knows about. In the Heart of a non-believer it gets its value system from the highest moral standard it can grasp. In the Heart of a believer it conforms to God’s standards. When the believer’s Heart is hard these standards are not well perceived or followed by the Heart. When the believer’s Heart is tender these standards are vivid and dynamic to the Heart. The conscience blames us when we do wrong. It condemns us when we sin. It condemns us when we are out of contact with God and His glory. On the other hand it brings fulfillment by justifying us when we do good and are right with God.

When we sin condemnation and blame pour into our Souls from the conscience. If we fight it or learn to ignore it a callous or hard layer is built up between the conscience and the Soul resulting in a condition called Hard-Heartedness. This condition is serious. If a person is Hard-Hearted their entire Heart becomes defiled. Their values become based on this defilement. Their standards used to measure good and evil become polluted and impure.

“To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.” (Titus 1:15)

The next step down is tragic. If a person remains in Hard-Heartedness along with participation in evil activities they will sear their conscience. This cauterization will make it impossible to hear the blame and condemnation coming from the conscience. There is no remorse no matter how evil they become.

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,” (1 Timothy 4:1-2)

Many believe this is the unpardonable sin. A seared conscience doesn’t work properly. If the conscience is seared then it cannot warn, blame or convict. When the Holy Spirit convicts there is no echoing conviction from the conscience. If that is the case there is no way for this person to come to faith in Christ. How tragic!

Those walking around with a defiled conscience have a treasury built up in their heart just as a Spirit-led believer does. However, theirs is a treasury of evil.

Yes, we used this passage in the first chapter to speak about the good treasure a Spirit-led person builds up in their Hearts. However in this context we are looking at how the evil treasure is built up in some people. The lack of conscience is the cause of this build-up.

Think of the bitterest person you know. Nothing pleases them. They have a very sharp tongue. If they are believers they rebel against serving God. They resent all efforts to get them involved in ministry. If they are non-believers they hate the church and Christ or they pretend to be righteous, but the bitterness and acid comes out of their mouths eventually. They run all over other people to protect their “rights.” They see the righteous as “do-gooders” who are just in the way. You know someone like that don’t you? We are describing the Hard-Hearted person. Their conscience is not clear. It has become defiled with the World’s value system with its polluted standards of good and evil. Their Hearts are building up a treasury of evil.

On the other hand, the Spirit-led believer is in constant state of heeding their conscience. There is no defiling of the conscience going in their Hearts because they are in the habit of keeping it clear. With a clear conscience there will be no problem when ethical or moral issues arise because they will attempt to act as Christ would by heeding their conscience then stepping out on faith. Also, the Spirit-led believer seeks the presence of God at all times. This results in fulfillment from their conscience. They were not always this way though. All believers start out as baby Christians who have no idea how to walk in the Spirit. The Spirit-led believer has been transformed from Soul-led to Spirit-led through God granting them Repentance as they abide in Christ. They live lives submitted to the Lordship of Christ. The treasury in their Hearts is made up of good things. As the Spirit-led believer speaks and acts they say edifying things and do good works. Their lives glorify God because they are walking the Walk by Faith.

A clear, pure conscience is a wonderful part of the treasure. It comes only to those who are right with God. The Spirit-led believer spends so much time in God’s presence, in the Word of God and in prayer their conscience takes on God’s value system. This means the Spirit-led believer should have no qualms about heeding their conscience because it is pure. With every act of obedience more treasure is laid up in Heaven for the Spirit-led believer. At the same time their treasury in their Heart grows purer. They are becoming more Christ-like. They seek to live lives that offend no one. If we strive to always have a pure conscience we will listen to it and behave accordingly.

“This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.” (Acts 24:16)

Just before crossing the Jordan River Joshua began preparing the people. He exhorted them and reminded them of their duty and of the fact they would have to be obedient to God or they would not possess the Promised Land. Then he spoke to the three tribes whose possession lay east of the Jordan. Their possession was not west of the Jordan as the other tribes. However, they had promised to help their brethren in battle until all of the land had been conquered. They had already taken possession of their land. They already possessed their treasure. They could easily have refused to do what was right. They could have refused to cross over and help their brethren possess their treasure. However, they heeded their consciences.

“So they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.” (Joshua 1:16-18)

If the eastern tribes had refused to help the western tribes what would have happened? God might have judged them. Fear of God is a very healthy thing. In fact, if a person has no fear of God it is because their conscience is not working properly. However, they did obey the Lord. They sought to be right with God. When we do this in our lives God blesses us with His presence and allows us to grow spiritually. He lays up more treasure for us in Heaven and in the treasury of our Hearts.

When God tests a believer’s faith (yes, He does this quite a bit) it will sometimes involve circumstances that reveal how submissive he or she is to His standards. For example, a wallet or purse could be found containing credit cards, cash, ID, etc. It would be very easy to swipe the cash and throw everything else away. Or the credit cards could be used illegally. The ID could be used to commit fraud. However, a believer who is being tested this way will know what is right and what is wrong. If they heed what their conscience is telling them what will they do? Of course they will attempt to get the articles back to the owner with nothing lost. When they do this their conscience grows more pure. Their ability to hear is more pure. They lay up more treasure in Heaven and more goodness in the treasury of their Heart.

Having a pure, cleansed conscience is vital. None of us enjoy the condemnation that the conscience can pour into our Souls. We should do all we can to heed its warnings. The Holy Spirit will use our conscience to lead, guide and direct us down the correct path. If we refuse to listen the only treasure we will possess is the evil that builds up in our Hard-Hearts. The believer with a pure conscience is Tender-Hearted. They listen and heed as God directs their paths. Their treasure in Heaven awaits and the treasury of their Hearts is being filled with Goodness.

Holiness

What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:21-23)

Holiness is one of those subjects that everyone seems to know everything it pertains to, but no one knows how to define. What is it? If you look up “Holiness” in a dictionary it will tell you that it means to be “Holy”. That’s not a lot of help is it? What does the word “Holy” mean? One dictionary definition is, “exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness”. Of course that could only be speaking of God.

A synonym for “Holiness” is “Sanctification”. If we look it up it is defined as “the state of growing in divine grace as a result of Christian commitment after baptism or conversion.” That’s close. A believer’s holiness comes as he or she matures in Christ through grace. That’s where it comes from, but that doesn’t tell us what its qualities are.

As a believer matures he or she begins to take on Christ’s very character. They become Christ-like. One of the “fruits” of salvation, a huge part of the godly treasury of the Heart, is separation from the World. What does this mean?

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:12)

The Holy Spirit resides in the Spirit of each believer. His presence not only makes the Spirit of Man Holy He is also constantly at work sanctifying the believer. What’s the big deal? Why can’t we stay conformed to the World and grow in Christ? The ways of the World are the antithesis of God’s ways. God’s ways are right; the World’s ways are not.

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:7-9)

If a believer refuses to jettison things or thoughts which are clearly “of the World”, as the Holy Spirit leads them to do so, it is nothing more than rebellion or disobedience. What happens when a believer does this? Well, they are refusing to submit to the will of God. When the Holy Spirit convicts you and me about anything our conscience, if healthy, will also condemn us about it. If we refuse to heed God and our conscience we are contributing to our own Hard-Heartedness. We are diminishing our treasure instead of laying it up. The treasury of our Heart is building up worldliness instead of Holiness. Holiness is the quality of godliness that speaks of conformity to Christ’s character and non-conformity to the World.

Only the Spirit-led are seeking to live Holy lives. The Soul-led may want to be Holy, but without the power that is inherent in the Spirit-led life they can’t do it. They try to be Holy via will power, but that is doomed to failure.

If we live lives that are characterized by Holiness what will we be like? We will be in a constant state of cleansing. We will be denying self by feasting on God as we fast from fleshly things and worldliness.

I used to think that self-denial was no fun, hard work and only led to boredom. That would be true if my entire fulfillment came through self-gratification. However, God has graciously granted me Repentance as I feasted on Him and fasted from fleshly desires. He has changed my entire value system. My conscience is pure and cleansed. All defilement has been washed away. I pray everyday that I will be given ears to hear Him, that I will heed my conscience, that I will be Spirit-led and that the Lord will not stop leading, guiding and directing my steps. This is learning how to hear God.

Now when I slip, stumble and blow it I know it immediately. I know I have taken my eyes off of Christ and feasted on something that is defiled while I fasted from Him. Oh, how I hate that! What’s the solution? The following passage is a word picture which is the “best” way to get back on track.

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:7-10)

Reading a passage like this is great, but we need to apply it to our lives so we can start living Holy lives. Here is what I do and don’t do: I submit to God in all humility. I confess my sin to Him. I don’t work up some false tears and try to feel bad about my sin while I wallow in self-pity. That’s a waste of time. However, the Lord shows me the harm my sin has caused and then I mourn and weep. When I submit to God this way my enemy flees from me. This should tell me how I stumbled in the first place. I have left God’s presence and feasted on something the enemy enticed me into. I must reverse this so I seek God’s face. I draw near to Him. When I do that He draws near to me. He grants me Repentance. I jettison whatever He tells me to and am cleansed. He then lifts me up. This is the ongoing process which is demolishing the strongholds in our Hearts that pull us away from God for self-gratification.

Think of this as the method or process of attaining and maintaining Holiness in your life. We must have zero tolerance for worldliness in our lives. If we don’t then we are not living Holy lives. If we live Holy lives we have a deep treasury of Goodness in our Hearts. If we are not then the treasury of our Hearts will be full of worldliness. Which to you think honors and glorifies God?

As the Israelites prepared to cross the Jordan God came to Joshua and commanded him to listen and obey. He told him that if he wanted success he must follow a certain pattern in his life. We have already looked at these verses in the chapter “Real Power”. However they also speak of Holiness.

“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:5-9)

God told Joshua that if he saturated his life with the Law, meditated on it day and night and did not turn from following it to the right hand or the left then God would prosper Him in all that he did. That sounds like Holiness and its reward to me.

The Lord will not allow us to mature and grow past certain points where we resist His conviction. I know believers who deeply desire to grow in grace, but can not because they have some uncleanness or lack of Holiness in their life. Does that mean God doesn’t love them? No! It means they are resisting His demand to be Holy. They are still His children, but they can not go on with God in seeking the Treasure until the sin is dealt with. What was God’s demand to Joshua if he wanted to prosper and be successful in all that God led him to do? Be Holy! He was called, as we are, to be a Spirit-led believer who walks by Faith, not by sight. We must hear God and obey Him. We must value Holiness in our lives as our Treasure.

Many believers may say, “I’m not so bad.” Or, “I’m not a big sinner; I just like to have fun now and then.” Or, “I’m not ready to give up <put some favorite worldly thing here> yet.” These types of statements reveal the presence of a serious problem. This type of attitude comes from those who compromise. They are saying,” My value system is okay as is. Holiness isn’t attainable anyway. People who live like that can’t be having any fun.” Well, it’s not how we “feel” about this that matters. What’s important is God’s will. God does not compromise on Holiness. Unless that is our value system as well we are in trouble. What kind of trouble? Our consciences are not functioning properly so our Hearts are hard. We can not be Spirit-led and compromise. It is impossible. To be Spirit-led means to have a pure and clear conscience so we can be Holy, humble, cleansed and pure before our Lord.

For those who think that being saved by grace means we can live any way we want I have bad news. That’s a lie. Who is the father of all lies? Satan is the father of all lies. His mission is to keep as many people as possible from living lives that glorify God. Only those who have learned to walk in the Spirit live lives that glorify God. Why?

“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him” for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:5-6)

Those who “diligently seek Him” are those who please God because they walk the Walk by Faith. They are the Spirit-led.

Who lays up treasure in Heaven? The Spirit-led do that. Who builds up Goodness in the Treasury of the Heart? The Spirit-led do that. Does anyone else? No! Who lives in a way that pleases and glorifies God? The Spirit-led do that. What do the Soul-led do? They live according the flesh and are worldly. They seek fulfillment by the flesh. How can that glorify God?

Holiness is the Hallmark of the Spirit-led believer. It is also the attribute that will lead to persecution. Why? The Holy believer is in the World, but is not part of it. They do not conform to it in any way. The Holy believer’s righteousness confronts the lost with the uncompromising message of the Gospel. It also flies in the face of Soul-led believers who resent the Spirit-led and their godly wisdom and knowledge. This can also bring persecution. Should we fear being Holy then?

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12)

That sounds like treasure to me. If we live uncompromising Spirit-led lives then we will be Holy and our Righteousness will be used by God to reveal the unrighteousness of the lost and dying World. That will lead to persecution, but it will also lay up treasure in Heaven for those who go through it. What about the Treasury of the Heart when this happens? Jesus said to Rejoice and be exceedingly glad when we are persecuted for Righteousness sake. The Goodness in the Treasury of the Heart enables the believer to go through it this way.

Do you have a different view of Holiness now? We can’t try to be Holy. However, if we diligently seek God, submit to His Lordship through complete obedience He will cleanse us and make us Holy. We will become Spirit-led. Then we are well on our way to possessing the Treasure.

Hearing God

“And so, my children, listen to me, for happy are all who follow my ways. Listen to my counsel and be wise. Don’t ignore it. “Happy are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home! For whoever finds me finds life and wins approval from the LORD. But those who miss me have injured themselves. All who hate me love death.”(Proverbs 8:32-36 NLT)

People are amazed when they watch me study the Bible or read or write while I listen to music. I have no trouble doing any of those while listening to my favorite Christian music from my iPod or from a CD. However, if I try to do it while listening to the radio I can’t. What’s the difference? There are people talking on the radio. At work I can’t stand it when people have very loud meetings in any of the cubicles close to mine especially when they use their speaker phones. Why? For some reason I focus entirely on the loudest voice I’m hearing. That’s the main reason I have resorted to using my iPod at work so I could drown out that noise so I could concentrate on what I need to.

There is a huge competition for our attention. I don’t watch a great deal of TV anymore, but I see enough to get disgusted with those continual interruptions called commercials. In our post-modern culture in the United States we are bombarded with noise. I delete over a hundred emails a day without reading them. They are spam emails and I don’t have the energy or time to pursue any of it. It is nothing but more noise anyway.

For the Spirit-led believer to remain focused on the Lord, not allowing distractions to interrupt that communion, spiritual ears have to be opened and tuned into the Him. That communion is vital to the Spirit-led believer. Nothing can be allowed to take precedence over it. The Soul-led do not understand this. To them, cutting out the distractions is eliminating the very things they use to try to attain fulfillment.

The building up of the good treasury in our Hearts requires hearing the truth from the Lord. What is that truth? It’s God’s wisdom. We must dedicate ourselves to filling the treasury of our Hearts with His wisdom. Why? Whatever is in the treasury of our Hearts is revealed in what comes out of our mouths and by our actions. To be the godly, Spirit-led believer we are called to be we must allow God to change us from the inside out. Our responsibility is to saturate our Hearts with the Lord. That means studying the Word of God, hearing good Bible teaching and listening to the Lord as He imparts His wisdom to us.

Scripture memorization is a good way to get God’s Word internalized. Memorization without mediation, though, is a danger. Meditation takes what the mind memorizes and writes it on our Hearts. It becomes part of our value system. If it stays in the mind all you have done is commit it to brain cells. That can become a source of pride. Meditation brings understanding. Understanding leads to application and genuine humility. Application leads to godly living which reveals the good treasury of the Heart.

Bible study, scripture meditation, submitting to godly teaching and preaching are all vital in hearing God, but that isn’t all. There is another component we need to take a close look at. Prayer is vital. Our concept of prayer is that it is simply us speaking to God. Prayer is much more than that. Prayer is two-way communication between us and God. For some of you that fact may seem strange. One of the reasons I had such a shallow prayer life for so long is I assumed I was simply speaking things to Him, hoping He heard me. That is the prayer of the immature believer.

The mature believer got there by learning to walk closer and closer to God. That is impossible without learning how to communicate with Him. Being very religious is no substitute for a deep, personal prayer life. The prayer life that matures is vital and continuous.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Walking in the spirit is accomplished by unceasing prayer. I can’t think of a better word picture for walking in the spirit than 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

How do we start? We rejoice always. The Greek verb translated “rejoice” means to have joy as a direct result of God’s grace. The tense, mood and voice for rejoice is present, imperative, active. That means to do this by continued and repeated action. We hear God as we pray and walk in the spirit because we delight in Him no matter what our circumstances are like. We must cling to Him in delight.

The next phrase in the passage says, “…pray without ceasing….” The verb translated pray means to thank, ask, and request special things. No surprises there. However, the tense, mood and voice for this verb are present, imperative, middle. It still means continued and repeated action, but the middle voice implies the one praying is performing an action upon self. That doesn’t mean we pray to ourselves. It means prayer is something we do which has an impact upon us because it is speaking as well as listening.

The next part of this passage says, “…in everything give thanks….” The first two words in this phrase imply the action is to be applied with absolutely no exceptions. “In everything give thanks” means there will be no circumstances that exempt us from being thankful to God. What about suffering? What about losing my job? What about sickness? What about…? We could come up with innumerable circumstances that would seem to us to be good reasons to not be thankful. However, to add godly wisdom to the treasury of our Heart we must see everything as His will and His will is perfect and is what is best for us. Suffering is a gift from God. It is a gift that allows us to come to know Him better. Suffering causes us to become closer to Him in complete reliance on His grace. The word translated “thanks” is a word that comes from combining two other words, “good or well” and “grace.” This means we are to be thankful to God as we recognize the goodness of His will for us. He always gives us the grace to be sustained in our circumstances.

The last part of this passage says, “…for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” God’s will for all in Christ is to walk in the spirit. That means we must give up our self-focused Soul-led walk and pursue Him with a whole Heart. How do we do that? We rejoice and pray always no matter what our circumstances are like knowing full well that is God’s will for us.

Okay, but what about this praying always stuff? How do we do that? This is what I do. I delight in His presence, I rejoice always with a thankful Heart. I continually seek His presence and wisdom. Does He answer me? Absolutely! When I ask for wisdom about something He gives it to me with an “overwhelming understanding.” That means a succinct answer and I know it’s Him. The answer I get is never audible, but it’s always right. It never contradicts scripture. In fact the understanding I get always leads me to study His Word more so I can enhance the wisdom He has given me. That wisdom is added to the treasury of my Heart and I am changed. I have heard some scoff at that, but then turn around and say things like, “the Lord led me to read such and such scripture.” How did he or she do that if it wasn’t by God revealing His wisdom to them?

The key to hearing God this way is to constantly pursue Him with an open Heart. That means to be ready to hear and obey. If we doubt then we will not hear Him. If we demand Him to speak we will not hear Him. If we have no intention to obey what He reveals we will not hear Him. There is one exception. We will hear Him convict us of sin.

How do we walk in the Spirit? We rejoice always, giving thanks in all circumstances. I also listen as I do this.

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:2-8)

We must ask God for wisdom, but only as we rejoice always with a thankful Heart. If we are suffering we must rejoice, thank Him and ask for wisdom with no doubting. What happens then? An overwhelming understanding will enter our Hearts and we will experience God’s Grace, Joy and Peace. We will be adding to the treasury of our Heart because we have learned to Hear God.

God Prepares the Way

They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them. So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them. And they said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us.” (Joshua 2:22-24 Emphasis Mine)

In our pursuit of the Treasure we have discovered what it is and what it isn’t. We have seen the qualities of the one who builds up and possesses it. It must be understood, though, that it is God who enables the believer to mature and grow in grace.

The second chapter in the book of Joshua has always been one of my favorite passages. In this chapter we see how vital it is for us to listen to God and obey Him. When He directs us to move we should move without fear and anguish because He has prepared the way.

As we have seen, for a believer to possess the Treasure, he or she must be obedient to God by believing Him then stepping out on faith. This act of faith is always blessed by God. That doesn’t necessarily mean riches or temporal things. It does mean spiritual growth. Many never take that step. They do not understand where the power or ability to do what God calls them to do comes from. God will provide all the wisdom and grace to accomplish His will. He is not dependant on our feeble talents and abilities. If we did things for God in our own abilities how would that glorify Him?

When I was Soul-led, self-directed and self-focused stepping out on faith was terrifying. I was obedient at times, but I was very inconsistent. When I did obey and act on faith He never let me down. In every case I was astounded. Why? I was not consistently focusing on God. I would have Spirit-led moments interspersed within Soul-led days, weeks, months and years.

When God drew me into this closer walk by Faith I spent more and more time in His presence. As a result I became Spirit-led most of the time. Now when I am called to obedience I am not terrified. I act. I do not ever know the outcome when I begin. I know He is in control. My part is to obey Him in all humility.

I have learned God will never let us down when we trust Him at His word. I have also learned to focus on the eternal more than the physical. Now, I never expect to be rewarded with wealth, health and prosperity just because I obey Him. I do know, however, with every act of obedience I am laying up treasure in Heaven and the Treasury of my Heart is being filled with Goodness. That is far better than any temporal things in this physical existence.

The book of Joshua is all about the Israelites taking Possession of the Promised Land as God empowered them. Their part was obedience to Him. His part was the power. As New Testament believers we serve the same God as Joshua and the ancient Israelites. He has not changed. He is still calling each of us to serve Him through obedience.

In Joshua Chapter 1 we saw where God commanded Joshua to take the people over the Jordan River and take the land. Joshua prepared the people then in the first verse of Chapter 2 we see he is a very good leader.

“Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Groveto spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rehab, and lodged there.” (Joshua 2:1)

The purists among us may say something like, “Joshua should have just obeyed God he didn’t need to send the spies.” If that were the case God would have been calling Joshua and the people to act on blind faith. That would be like me not preparing a lesson before I teach my Sunday school class. I would just “trust” God to work a miracle and teach through me what He wants taught.

I have learned, the hard way, I must prepare to teach. I must study the Bible. I must read commentaries. I must develop a lesson plan. I must prepare my Heart. However, when I teach I do not rely solely on my learning and preparation. I pray before every class God will teach through me only what will glorify Him. In my class we rarely follow my lesson plan to completion anyway. God intervenes, His wisdom comes forth, my students are edified and God is glorified.

Some of you are teachers or preachers. Most of you aren’t. We are all gifted uniquely by God for His purposes though. Just because we don’t teach a class or pastor a church does not mean we have no value to God. In fact the laity is called to the same level of service and obedience as the leadership. We are all to minister to one another as God leads us. In every case, God prepares the way.

In the passage I placed at the beginning of this chapter we read where the people of Jericho were terrified. The Lord had put that fear there. He was preparing the way for the Israelites to take possession of the Promised Land. God used the act of sending in the two spies to reveal that preparation to Joshua and the Israelites. Why do you think He did that? I believe He was encouraging them. Does God still do this today? Yes, I believe He shows us whatever we need to see or learn so we will be encouraged to be faithful.

Does the fact that God prepares the way for us mean we won’t have problems or adversity? No! Carefully read the following passage:

“Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.” So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.” (Joshua 2:1-3)

The two spies sent out by Joshua are nearly captured. They bravely entered the city of Jericho itself. We have no idea how anyone recognized them as being Israelite spies, but they were. It seems their mission is over before it starts.

I can’t think of any act of obedience on my part that hasn’t also been accompanied by challenges that seemed to be about to bring on doom and destruction to the plan. Since I have become Spirit-led I handle these circumstances very different than I did when I was Soul-led. Now I pause, seek the Lord’s face then ask for clarification and help as I wait on Him. The Lord shows me the truth. At first I was reacting to perceived impending doom and destruction, but with my own mind, will and emotions. After praying the fallacy of depending on my own understanding is made clear. Then I rejoice in Him. In every case the problem is seen, by me, as very small and trivial since the Lord is in control. All I have to do was continue in my obedience by stepping out on faith.

As we walk through this life the Lord has set before us it is imperative we do so with the full understanding there will be bumps in the road, flat tires, car trouble, confusing directions, storms, you name it. In fact, it is not very wise to assume that we will be free from adversity. God prepares the way for our obedience, but that way may be full of trouble. That does not mean God is a bad preparer. What that means is God will use the adversity in our lives to draw us closer to Him. He still commands our obedience, but we have to proceed by faith expecting the Lord to handle all of the complexities that life throws our way. It’s not just some of the problems; it’s all of the problems. God is commanding us to obey Him entirely for our spiritual growth and His glory. Sometimes it may be for the edification of others, but it will always be for His glory and our spiritual growth.

The two spies obeyed what Joshua sent them to do and they almost got caught. However, God used an unlikely person to bring about their deliverance, Rahab the harlot. The Hebrew word translated “harlot”, describing Rahab in verse 1, is actually two words combined to form “female prostitute” with possession to indicate the house the two spies came to. The rest of the references to “harlot” in the book of Joshua leave off “female.” The emphasis to us is the house was hers. It was not unusual for visitors to go there for lodging.

It makes no sense to attempt to gloss over the fact Rahab was a prostitute. Is it possible for the sin of fornication to be forgiven? Sure it is. Can God use a person like a prostitute to prepare the way and bring about deliverance? Never attempt to lock God into what he can or can not do. Do not try to put God in a box. Yes, God can and will do anything that He wills to do. God will pardon any sin when the sinner comes to Him in humility fully submitting to His Lordship.

The following passage is somewhat long, however, it reveals God’s attitude towards those sinners the rest of us usually reject as not worthy of grace. Take your time. Prayerfully read it asking yourself if you would be one of those the Lord rebukes in this passage or one of those who rejoices when a sinner repents.

“One of the Pharisees asked him over for a meal. He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him.” Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Oh? Tell me.” “Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.” “That’s right,” said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.” Then he spoke to her: “I forgive your sins.” That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: “Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!” He ignored them and said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” (Luke 7:36-50 MSG)

I say Amen! When I read this passage I take a close internal look at my own Heart. I remember what I was like before God saved me. I have been forgiven much. I am no more worthy of grace than the woman washing Jesus’ feet with her tears. We must overcome all self-righteous attitudes if we are to possess the treasure. None of us deserve grace. All of us deserve eternity in Hell.

Rahab was a prostitute. However, as we shall see, her house was on the wall of the city and God had prepared her Heart. The King of Jericho had demanded she turn over the two Israelite spies. What did she do?

“Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.” (Joshua 2:4-7)

Did Rahab lie? Isn’t’ that also a sin? Yes and yes. The self-righteous might say she is digging an even deeper hole of sin here. However, what are her motives? She is protecting these two men from certain death and reacting to God’s will. You may ask, how can a pagan prostitute know the will of God? Let’s see.

“Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men: “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.” (Joshua 2:8-13)

Sounds like someone who has come to truly believe God to me. Her speech to these two spies is a wonderful statement of faith. She knows God is going to wipe out Jericho and all the inhabitants of the land. She offers to help by showing them kindness, if they will help her and show her kindness.

Rahab used the name for God that was most holy to the Israelites. In this passage it is translated as “LORD.” It is “YHWH” in Hebrew. We would pronounce it as “Yahweh.” The Jews would refuse to pronounce it. Instead they would substitute the word “Adonai.” In any case Rahab revealed knowledge of who God really is.

The Hebrew word translated “kindness” in this passage is one of the most important words in the Old Testament. It is often translated as “lovingkindness.” This is grace. It is a kindness that is often underserved, but is sometimes reciprocated. It is a kindness that results in the elevation of circumstances above what seemed to be inevitable.

Not only does she offer to help the two spies, but she also reveals the fact the people of the city have no Heart left. They are terrified of the Israelites and God. This is actually the information they were looking for when they entered the city. Their mission is complete, except they are hiding in a city that is locked up tight and guarded by very frightened men. Then they respond to Rahab’s offer.

“So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.” (Joshua 2:14)

The bargain is made. They offer to return Rahab’s lovingkindness if she continues to help them. But how are they going to escape from Jericho and get back to Joshua?

“Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.” (Joshua 2:15-16)

Rahab’s house was on the city wall. Do you think that God arranged this? Of course He did! How do you suppose she knew the ways and means of the Jericho army? That is unknown, but she does show she is an intelligent woman with a very strong character. The two spies pledged to be faithful to their oath to protect her and her family if she does one more thing.

“So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home. So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.” Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.” (Joshua 2:17-21)

God prepares the way. God controls all things. He does nothing haphazardly. His timing is perfect and He is never late. He calls us to obedience and a life of Holiness so we can know Him and lay up treasure in Heaven and build a treasury of Goodness in our Hearts.

In the passages we have looked at so far in this chapter we have seen two spies who pick out Rahab’s house in which to lodge probably because it was on the wall. With that location they could easily escape if they had to. That is exactly what happened. However, do not overlook the fact God sent in the spies to Rahab’s house to protect her. What? Rahab was a believer. Look at her statement of faith. Not only that, but He had special plans for her. God pardoned her and elevated her as an example of His grace. She was at the bottom of the social strata, yet she was elevated to honor. She married Salmon a Judean and became the mother of Boaz who had a son named Obed by Ruth, a Moabite. Obed had a son named Jesse who had a son named David. This places her in the lineage of David the King of Israel and, therefore, Jesus Christ. She is mentioned in the hall of faith in Hebrews 11.

“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.” (Hebrews 11:30-31)

She is mentioned in the book of James as well as an example of obedience coming forth from saving faith.

“Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works? The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape–that seamless unity of believing and doing–what counted with God?” (James 2:24-25 MSG)

Ah, now we see what made Rahab special to God. She believed and acted. That is exactly what God calls us to in response to His preparing the way for us. Never think you have sinned too much to be useful to God. None of us deserve salvation. However, once salvation comes we must pursue Purity and Holiness in our lives.

The two spies did just as Rahab said.

“They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them. So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them. And they said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us.” (Joshua 2:22-24)

The evidence of God’s preparation of the way to possessing the Promised Land was clear and evident. The spies made it known to Joshua. The encouragement to him and the people had to be powerful and special.

In our Christian walk in the 21^st Century does God still prepare the way for our possessing the treasure? Of course He does! God is incredible in how he manages the most complex circumstances to work out His will. He may be putting some of you through a very severe trial so your splendid walk through the fires of sanctification will be made evident to others who need to see your Godly example. They may be, as Rahab, desperately seeking the truth and salvation. Your Pure and Holy walk will be exactly what God uses to break down the barriers of rebellion in their Hearts. That is why we must be diligent in our walk. No matter how tough it becomes we need to focus entirely on Him as He takes us through each test and trial. We are being watched.

Another precious truth we must learn from this passage is to understand God is sovereign and He knows what He’s doing. We must place our complete trust in Him. Our attitudes must be to obey the Lord no matter how costly it appears to be. Yes, we may die, we may suffer loss, we may be persecuted, we may lose our health, but that does not matter. What matters is our obedience and His glory. Our eyes must always be on our Savior as we walk this walk. Every step we make should be by His will and for His glory and we can do that because we know He has prepared the way.

God Leads the Way

Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:1-3)

It is a sad thing that most of us are amazed, surprised or dumbfounded when God answers someone’s prayer in a mighty and miraculous way. We say we believe God answers prayer and leads, guides and directs our paths, but when He reveals Himself to us this way we act like it is a completely unexpected miracle. That’s just not right. For the Spirit-led to pray continually staying in fellowship and communion with God all the time and then be surprised when He comes through is puzzling.

Another issue that concerns me is the lack of faith I see in some Christian leaders. I have seen Christian leaders throw cold water all over someone’s tender faith by denying a work God has done in that believer’s life. That sort of thing is nothing but Hard-Hearted behavior. These “leaders” act godly, but deny the power of the Holy Spirit by saying things like, “God doesn’t work that way.” I believe they have become dulled to the reality of the Holy Spirit working in Tender-Hearted believer’s lives because they never step out on faith themselves. They never do anything that is impossible for them to accomplish in their own abilities. However, God commands us to do just that with the full understanding He is leading the way.

Where is God leading us? He is leading us into acts of obedience that will build up Goodness in our Hearts and lay up Treasure in Heaven. He is leading us to walk by faith and become Christ-like.

When I was a young man I joined the U.S. Navy. I wanted two things from the Navy, computer training and to see the World. I got the training, but all I ever got to see was San Diego and Washington D.C. plus all those states in between. In boot camp I learned very quickly which behaviors caused things to go well and those which caused very bad things to happen. One of the most important things I learned was to listen to everything my Company Commander said then to obey whatever he commanded me to do. Life was so much better when I turned left when he told me to turn left. If I marched straight when everyone else turned left it could be a very painful and embarrassing experience. Boot Camp was all about learning the right ways and the wrong ways to be a U.S. Sailor.

When I graduated from Boot Camp some of those guys I went in with were not there. They had been set back because of disciplinary problems or some lack of understanding about how to listen and obey. It was a huge relief to get on that bus and leave the base for the last time. However, I learned the value of conforming to the behavior the U.S. Navy demanded.

This life as a Spirit-led believer has some similarities with being in the military. We are all called to obedience to God’s standards. In the Navy I had to learn and conform to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and Standards of Conduct. God is in control and calls all the shots. In the Navy I always had a chain of command over me wherever I was stationed. The one at the top was in control of His command.

In the military the leaders who get the respect of the men are the ones who lead from the front. Those “leaders” who shout their orders from some safe place in the rear do not get the same level of respect.

How does God lead? Some have the mistaken belief God is way up there in Heaven and has no idea how tough life can be on planet Earth. They decry the call to obedience with the lament, “Jesus could be perfectly obedient because He is God!” Well, Jesus is God, but He became flesh and dwelt among us. (cf. John 1) He was tempted in every that way we are. (cf. Hebrews 4:18) Jesus was completely obedient to the will of the Father. (cf. John 14:31, John 15:10, Romans 5:19, 1 Corinthians 15:28, Hebrews 5:8, Hebrews 10:9) That obedience was complete even to death on the cross so you and I could be saved from the coming judgment that is coming upon the whole World. His life is our example.

We are not alone though. We have God the Holy Spirit living in our Spirits if we are in Christ. He is constantly leading us into obedience to Christ’s standard of excellence. The Spirit-led believer is glorifying God constantly because he or she is in the center of God’s will. How did they get there? They listened to and obeyed what the Holy Spirit revealed to them. They understand their role is to follow God’s lead, it is not do their own thing. They know self-gratification is Soul-led behavior and it does not fulfill. They seek God to know Him. They may receive many blessings from Him, but their motivation is their overwhelming Love for Him. The Holy Spirit’s work is to change us from the inside out so we will conform to the shape the Lord has decreed for us. Holiness and Separation from the World marks the Spirit-led believer as “different.”

The Spirit-led believer is what all believers should be like, not looked at as “different.” The Soul-led are the majority. It is upside down. The Church should be full of the Spirit-led while the Soul-led are discipled into maturity. But it’s the other way around. The Church is full of the Soul-led who look on the Spirit-led with suspicion. They fear the witness of the Spirit-led because it challenges their complacent lives which are stuck in self-gratifying comfort zones. The Soul-led claim the best way to grow in Christ is to do as many church things as possible while “repenting.”

The Spirit-led feel out-of-place as they attempt to follow Christ’s example of pointing the way to the truth only to be challenged on every point by Hard-Hearted Soul-led believers who like things the way they are. The Spirit-led see their walk with God as close and personal not as religion. Their focus is on obedience to God’s will in all areas of their life. The Soul-led use religion to try to earn God’s favor or they assume their way of being a believer is the one and only way.

Some Soul-led believers, who I call mature Adolescents, have been believers long enough to know the rules. They look like good church people and are faithful much of the time. They pray, read their Bibles, faithfully attend church, teach classes, preach sermons, counsel people and lead others to Christ. They are very good at serving God by doing things, but it is by self-discipline and will power along with a drive to appease a guilty conscience. They rarely step out on faith because they are not walking closely with the Master in a continuous one-on-one relationship. These are good people, don’t get me wrong, but they have not made that crucial next step. When they hear someone proclaim the truth about the Spirit-led walk they are suspicious and don’t understand what all the fuss is about. They also see nothing wrong with the pursuit of constant self-gratification.

Which is following God? The Spirit-led are constantly pursuing Him. The Soul-led are pursuing self-gratification. The Spirit-led are following God. God leads the way, but only the Spirit-led are truly following Him. Those mature Adolescent Soul-led believers do good things, but it is by their own will power and self-discipline. They use the pattern of the Bible to show them the do’s and don’ts. That does lead to godly living on the outside; however, Christ called us to a higher level of obedience.

Complete obedience marks the true believer. What is “complete obedience?” It is obeying the Lord in all things, all the time. It isn’t perfection. It isn’t living completely free from stumbling (sin). Complete obedience is total surrender to the Lordship of Christ. Who does this? The Spirit-led do this. Do the Soul-led? The very definition of Soul-led means they are not surrendered to His Lordship because they will not give up their life-style of self-gratification.

While Jesus was beginning His ministry on Earth his mother and brothers assumed He had lost His mind. They came to try to persuade Him to come Home.

“While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:47-50)

Who are those who Jesus’ calls His true family? Those who are obedient to the will of the Father are the truly obedient. Here we have our requirement for a true follower of our Lord. Jesus said His disciples were examples of those who do the will of the Father.

Let’s look at the requirements for being a disciple of Christ Jesus. I can’t think of a better description for the call and cost of discipleship than the very words of our Lord.

“Then Jesus said to the disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soulin the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26 NLT)

Do you see anything in these verses that say the way to please our Lord is to be faithful church goers, bringing your Bible to church every time you come and making sure you have your lesson studied so you can get gold star? I didn’t either. I saw where I must give up all of my rights to my life and serve Him in all things. That shouldering the cross stuff is dying to all rights to myself. It is seeing self as dead. No self-love, self-gratification, self-will or selfish ambition. It is the epitome of self-denial.

To be Christ’s disciple I must do the will of the Father which is total surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and seeing self as dead as I follow my Lord wherever He leads me. What will this life look like? The true disciple will definitely be a faithful, humble servant of the Lord. That servitude may very well be a call to serve in a local church being faithful in those things others look at to determine one’s spiritual maturity. However, let’s be honest, anyone can “do church”. The difference will be in their day-by-day, hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute walk with God. It will be evident in how they handle crisis, problems and anything stressful. God is calling us to follow our Lord no matter the cost and that isn’t just in the stress of making it to church every Sunday or in tithing.

The true disciple of Christ knows they have been called to a life of submission to the refining fires of sanctification. Christ-likeness is the result. Did Christ lead this way?

“While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him.” (Hebrews 5:7-10 MSG)

Jesus is our example and forerunner in this Spirit-led walk by faith. Did He complain to God when He suffered? Yes! Did he weep in sorrow? Yes! Did He sin? No! He honored God in all things. The key to these verses in our study of being Christ’s disciple is the phrase, “Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do.” We must submit to the Lord in all circumstances, good and bad. When we are suffering we must submit. When we are in comfort we should submit even more. We must dedicate our entire being to being in the His presence continuously no matter what our circumstances.

Where else does the Lord lead us?

“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.” Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is–when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.” (John 15:15:1-8 MSG)

This passage is a call by Christ to all who are to be His disciples to live their lives totally within Him. That excludes a call to be in Church every Sunday as enough doesn’t it. It is a call to be a 24/7 believer totally dependant upon the power of the Holy Spirit to work through us for sanctification and good works.

How can we do this? If we are Soul-led this looks impossible. I know, when I was Soul-led I could not understand how anyone could live this way. However, the Lord changed me. He did that when I surrendered totally to His Lordship and then dedicated myself to stay in His presence all the time. At the time I didn’t really understand what was going on. I knew I had changed, but I wasn’t precisely sure how it had taken place. I was extremely grateful though. It was after I studied this process in great depth as I prepared to write Walking the Walk by Faith that I came to understand what a huge, wonderful work God had wrought in me.

One of the things I did that seemed to make most of the difference for me was the amount of time I spent in pursuit of God and all things Holy. I believe what I had done was put into action a principle, found in scripture, which God used to mature me.

“But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!” (Romans 13:11-14 MSG Emphasis Mine)

I clothe myself in Christ. I pray whenever I can. I listen only to uplifting Christian music. I try not to waste any of my time with entertainment of any kind. I claim all of the time I can for Christ and His work in me. Anything outside of this I do for His glory. Am I successful all the time? Unfortunately no, but I know I can’t so I simply move on with Christ as my focus as much as I can. He understands. What is the result? I find it much easier to know God’s will because I listen to Him a great deal. He answers my prayers. We converse and commune. I follow, He leads. I get discouraged, He reveals the truth to me and I am edified. Sometimes I am left to be obedient to the last thing He revealed to me with no sense of His presence at all. I must obey. When I do I find He is always there.

This chapter has lain incomplete with only the first couple of pages written for over a week as I wallowed in self-pity and discouragement because of the resistance of some of my Christian friends to the truth. I have allowed the enemy to drag me down into despair as I became convinced I was never going to be able to please them and write the truth. I became convinced the Self-disciplined walk was just as valid as the Spirit-led walk. Then I sought my Lord at the bottom of the pit of despair and He spoke. He revealed He had allowed me to experience that resistance from those who should really know better so I could understand the fact Soul-led religiosity is deeply entrenched in His Church. He showed me He did indeed give me the truth to reveal to His Church and that truth is: only the Spirit-led please God. Only the Spirit-led are abiding or living within Christ as He abides in them. The message has not changed. I had to experience the resistance so I could put truth to paper then speak it to all. Perhaps a few will hear and repent. Perhaps God will use me for His purposes. I might very well be persecuted and derided by Christian leaders who don’t want to hear the truth. This message could be rejected by the many.

On the other hand, God could take this message and do a great work in the Hearts of all those in His Church. A restoration beyond our comprehension may take place. God is leading the way for us to return to Him and live this Christian walk for His glory.

Oh Lord God almighty! I pray You will look upon the sorry state of your Church in the USA and take pity on us. We have sinned. We have become self-focused, self-centered and bent wholly on self-gratification. We have taken you for granted and assumed you would be satisfied with our feeble attempts at Soul-led religiosity based on self-discipline. We try to be spiritual with little or no help from You. However, Lord, You are calling all of us to return to that close intimate walk by faith which only the Spirit-led can do. Change us Lord. Pour out your Spirit on those who respond in repentance to Your call. Search us Lord. Show us the depth of our iniquities with which we have offended You. Change and soften our Hearts Lord as we submit to your Lordship. All for your Glory, Amen!

God Provides the Way

Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Groveand came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.” (Joshua 3:1-4)

I am convinced most believers are terrified they will be called by God to serve Him in some capacity which will require them to step out on faith. Sometimes it’s something as simple as praying publicly or teaching a class. We seem to want our service to God to be things we are comfortable doing. When I was asked to teach the first time I was totally intimidated by the challenge. I was convinced I was not capable of doing a good job. However, over time I became pretty good at preparing a lesson and presenting it on Sunday mornings. I found I was comfortable standing in front of a group of believers and speaking. I found I could do that, but I still have to rely on His strength, wisdom and His total preparation of my Heart to do it in a way which glorifies Him.

The problem is we all get “comfortable” serving God in our areas of giftedness. The stress comes when we are asked to serve in ways in which we are not as comfortable. I would not have any problem speaking in front of a group of believers, but I would be terrified if I had to sing a solo, or perform in a drama, or do some administrative task. If I was asked to start a mission from scratch I would be clueless. However, when God calls us to obedience it is often, if not always, in areas we are not especially suited for. Why? We are all called to walk by faith not by sight. Our obedience not only pleases God it glorifies Him. That is so because He not only prepares the way and leads the way; He provides the way. That means the ability to be obedient is by His mercy and grace.

A perfect example of God providing the way for our obedience is the crossing of the Red Sea by Moses and the Israelites as Pharaoh and the Egyptian army pursued them. God and gained the release of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage through 10 horrible plagues which nearly devastated the country. As they left God had Moses lead the people into what appeared to be a trap.

“Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, “They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” And they did so.” (Exodus 14:1-4)

The Israelites had encamped between a rock and a hard place. They were hemmed in by the wilderness on one side and the Red Sea on the other. Why? God wanted to use the Egyptians one more time for His glory.

“Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh King of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.” (Exodus 14:5-9)

Think of our fear of serving God and the sin that so easily ensnares us as bondage. If we are continually giving in to that sin then we are in bondage to it. Now think of the slavery to the Egyptians that the Israelites had just been freed from as a “type” of that bondage. What happens when we try to flee from that bondage in our own strength? It comes after us doesn’t it? It comes after us and usually captures us again by making us doubt God and His promises.

“And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, “Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” (Exodus 14:10-12)

Ingrates! This attitude by the Israelites is typical of the Soul-led when they are mired in anguish and despair because they know they have no power to do the task God is calling them to do. They can only see their bondage to there fears and sin and the impossibility of being obedient to God. How dare God ask me to do this! He knows I can’t do anything like this! This isn’t fair! I quit! The Soul-led will not believe God and act. They will only act if they can see. If they would only believe God and obediently do whatever is called for they would grow in faith and grace, but they usually don’t.

“And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” (Exodus 14:13-18)

The people were terrified. Moses was not. God was in control. What was God’s command? Shut up and obey! He had Moses stretch out his rod over the sea to miraculously provide the way of salvation to these people. Did they deserve it? No, I don’t think so. They were told to simply obey whatever Moses told them to do and watch what God was about to do.

Think about it. These people had observed the 10 plagues that God used to bring about their deliverance and yet they still doubted. Why? They were completely driven by their minds, their wills and their emotions. They were Soul-led. They were driven by pride not submitted to God in humility. What about Moses? He had the privilege of walking closely with God. He talked with God all the time. He is our example of the Spirit-led believer. Was he perfect? No! He sinned. However, He understood God had provided the way all along and would continue to do so.

The Egyptians represent our bondage to sin and the constant failure that goes with it. We are diligently and desperately seeking victory and seem to be well on our way, but then we get our eyes on our progress and off of the one who has delivered us. Then before we know it our besetting sins appear dragging us back into bondage with fleshly hooks. It looks like we are going back to Egypt. However, God knows what He is doing. He knows what we need. We need a way of escape. God always provides the way.

“If you think you are standing strong, be careful, for you, too, may fall into the same sin. But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.” (1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NLT)

Interestingly, the way of escape God provides for us in these cases is to go through the trial in His strength. Sometimes that means simply being obedient as we flee the temptation. Other times we simply obliterate our focus on everything but Him through praise, worship and prayer. Our part is to act by going the way He has prepared for us. If we don’t we’ll go back to Egypt. Isn’t it a wonderful truth to grasp that our God who loves us beyond all comprehension never changes? Truths about his ways and character revealed in the ancient Old and New Testaments are still valid for us in the 21^st Century.

“And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.” (Exodus 14:19-29)

God prepares the way. God leads the way. God provides the way. If we will obey the Lord in the midst of our difficulties by going hard after Him and doing whatever He says He does a good work in us. If our sins and doubts that have kept us in bondage come after us the Lord will fight the fight for us and provide the way of escape. He will defeat the enemy. We must believe God then act. When we do that our faith is built up. God is glorified. He makes it clear the way to our deliverance is by obediently going the way He has prepared for us.

It all comes down to believing God or not doesn’t it? The Spirit-led are still called to step out on faith. Just because they have learned to walk in the spirit does not mean they are exempt from being put in circumstances which seem impossible. The Spirit-led still have to believe God and act. They know, however, where their treasure is. They also know how valuable the treasury of Goodness in the Heart really is. We are all called to believe God and act. God calls all of us to become pure and holy before Him. We must dedicate ourselves to being ready for Him to use as His chosen vessel.

The Israelites have come to the Jordan River. Joshua has sent in two spies and they have returned. It’s time to act. What is the first thing the people must do? In the passage I placed at the beginning of this chapter we saw where they were commanded to follow the ark, but stay far enough away so they could see the way God had prepared for them. Then Joshua gave the command.

“And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.” (Joshua 3:5-6)

What did the people have to do first? What is this sanctify stuff? In Paul’s second epistle to Timothy he poured himself into the message because he knew he was about to die. In it he gives us a very clear picture of how to “sanctify” ourselves to the Lord.

“In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.” (2 Timothy 2:20-22 NLT)

Paul told Timothy that he must “sanctify” himself to the Lord so he would be usable by the Lord. That means to experience God deeply and see Him work in miraculous ways in our lives we must do the same.

This is our pursuit of Holiness and Purity before the Lord. God prepares the way, leads the way and provides the way, but we must prepare ourselves to be ready to follow our Lord. The Spirit-led are constantly doing this. The Soul-led not only do not understand this they don’t know how. They see purification as coming through self-discipline and will power.

While the Spirit-led still use will-power it is not directed the same way the Soul-led do it. The Soul-led see all spiritual growth as trying harder to be good. Thank God we don’t have to do that! Why? If we attempt to be pure and holy before out Lord by will-power and self-discipline we will eventually fail. Besides it’s really hard work. If we do end up living “godly” lives that way we will become self-righteous because we will know it was by our own strength. The Spirit-led know all of that is a waste of time because it is all done without any help from God.

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 NLT)

This passage tells us we can NOT do any good work that pleases our Lord and Glorifies God by our own strength. We must abide or remain in Christ, immersed in Him, clothed in Him and completely submitted to His Lordship as He does good works through us. There are no exceptions.

You may ask, “But don’t we decide to do the works and don’t we actually have to exercise our will to do them?” The answer is yes. Of course we have to still do that. That is our part. We must step out on faith. That is an act of our will. The difference is we must do this fully understanding it is God doing the work(s) through us. If we attempt, in any way, to take control back from God then we are on our own. He will let us walk right into mediocrity. When He does the work through us it’s always good.

Many times the good work is simply our obedience. We may never see the end result. We may simply present the gospel to someone and experience no visible affect. However, we were obedient, by His power and strength, and we must accept that as our part. We can do this when we understand God prepares the way for our obedience. He leads the way for our obedience. He provides the way for our obedience. In all three He will set things up so He will be glorified and we will grow in Grace.

The correct way to become pure and holy before our Lord is to start with Him, get as close to Him as we can then do all we can to stay in His presence. That is where our will power comes in. We must delight, by our will, in Him and His presence. We must love Him with our whole being, by our will, as He builds up our faith and changes us from the inside out. When we do this we will find ourselves fleeing everything that makes it easy for Egyptian bondage to get its fleshly hooks in us. We decide to repent by our will. When we do that God grants us repentance. This grows us spiritually. This causes us to change. We are walking in Repentance with Joy. We seek our entire fulfillment from being in His presence by willing our Heart to focus on Him rather than the flesh. The following scripture says it all.

“He gives us more and more strength to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.” So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.” (James 4:6-10 NLT)

This is how we should sanctify ourselves so the Lord will do a wondrous works in our lives. This is the only way we can live the life that possesses Heavenly Treasure and builds up the Treasury of Goodness in our Hearts.

Many believers are positive God does not want them to be successful. They conclude He wants all the glory and they must be servile and repentant forever before Him. They are sure God will go out of His way to keep each us from being exalted and successful. I’m not sure where this idea came from, but it isn’t supported in scripture. The Bible is full of admonishments calling all of us to be humble and not proud. However, when we become Spirit-led, humble servants of our Lord He may very well exalt us before men.

“And the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, “When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.” (Joshua 3:7-8)

God will exalt who He desires to exalt, but it will always be for His glory, for His purpose and to provide the way for those He is calling to obedience. God told Joshua He was exalting Him before the Israelites so they would see that He was with him just as He had been with Moses. Moses was exalted before the people because they knew God was with Him.

Does God still do this? We have a promise in the book of James about this. I have used this passage before, but it bears another look.

“When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.” (James 4:10 NLT)

What is this admitting our dependence on Him? We have already looked closely at this earlier in this chapter. We must understand our role in the Kingdom. We are not calling the shots. We are not in control in any way. We can not do one truly godly thing without His Grace and Mercy working through us to do it. When we admit our total inadequacy to Him as we submit completely to the Lordship of Christ what does He do? He lifts us up and gives us honor. Isn’t this what He did with Joshua? Yes, and He wants to do this in our lives as well. What we have to do is seek Him first with no ulterior motives. When we are truly humble before our Lord we have become the one He is looking for. You know, that chosen vessel or utensil that He will use for honor and for His glory. This one is the one laying up true Treasure in Heaven, not on Earth. This one’s Treasury of the Heart is becoming full of Goodness. This one may be exalted before men, but will remain humble before his or her Lord.

How will God exalt the one chosen? He will prepare the way, He will lead the way and He will provide the way to draw us into points of decision. These points are lines drawn in the sand of our Souls. We either decide to follow Him in obedience or we don’t. When we follow we have made the right decision. When we refuse we have taken the Soul-led way out. We have taken the easy way, not the way of faith. This is not walking by faith. It is walking by sight. When we decide to follow we know we are totally dependant upon God’s Grace and Mercy to do what is called for. When we obey the Lord will give us what is needed. When we do whatever He wills for us to do we are changed. Our faith is built up because it is exercised. We grow in Grace. We become one the Lord exalts and honors before men.

On the outside looking in, though, it may look very different. The world may persecute, or make fun of, or ridicule the believer before the swine and dogs of this World. However, those who God is working on, those whose Hearts are being drawn to Him will see believers going through the fire in a magnificent display of Love, Peace and Joy. This is truly being exalted and honored before men. Oh, I’m sorry. Were you expecting riches and worldly glory? God may very well give His servants good things, but true honor and glory before men is revealed in the fires of purification.

Polycarp was a direct pupil of the apostle John. He lived between 70 and 155 A.D. His letters and teachings are considered vital and relevant, even today. He lived in the era of the Roman Empire when everyone was commanded to worship the Emperor of Rome as a god. Roman officials came down hard on the church during this time. Polycarp did not escape this persecution. He was arrested on the charge He was a Christian. He was brought before the Roman proconsul who observed not a strident rebel, but a gentle old man who could not and would not harm anyone. He took pity on him and suggested that all he had to do was simply say, “Caesar is Lord!” Then he would have to offer a pinch of incense to Caesar’s statue. If he would do this he would go free. Polycarp’s response should forever mark our Hearts as our response to this rotten world system which demands we completely conform to it. He replied, “Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” He was then burned alive at the stake. He did not take the easy way out because that cost the most eternally. He stepped out on faith and paid the price with his life but only temporally. His decision was made entirely from an eternal perspective.

Was Polycarp honored or dishonored before men? His testimony is universally seen as martyrdom. He is revered and held high. God honored Him, but allowed this wonderful humble servant to be burned alive for his testimony. What sort of Treasure do you suppose he lay up in Heaven? We vividly see the godly and good treasure in his Heart. Did God provide the way for Polycarp’s martyrdom? Yes he did. I’m sure his death by being burned at the stake was painful and agonizing. However, it was momentary, light affliction when compared with the joys of eternity with Christ.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Oh Lord God, I love you with my whole being. I am not worthy of your grace and mercy. I am forever grateful for the cross of Christ. I come to you now fully recognizing your sovereignty. I plead with you Lord to take the reader’s Heart, examine it then reveal the areas of it which are defiled by pride. Break their Heart about their dependence on fleshly strongholds for fulfillment. I pray they will abandon all attempts at fulfillment by going after worldly, fleshly things. I pray they will see you have prepared the way to their true fulfillment through Christ’s blood. I pray they will see Christ leading the way to the center of your will where their lives will be lived for your glory. I pray they will become acutely aware You have provided the way to their becoming a Spirit-led believer who lives only for You. All for your glory Lord, Amen.

Spiritual Markers

Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, “What are these stones?’ then you shall let your children know, saying, “Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.” (Joshua 4:19-24)

In the summer of 2004 my wife Ina and I took a two week vacation trip to the East coast. We spent nearly a week in Washington D.C. Then we drove to Williamsburg, VA and spent a couple of days there and at Jamestown. Then we drove to Gettysburg where we toured the battlefield. I love history so this was a lot of fun for me. I’m not so sure Ina enjoyed it as much as I did though.

In Washington, D.C. and all over the Gettysburg battlefield there are monuments and memorials. It was hot and crowded at both. It seemed everyone wanted to have their own personal experience with each monument. The one that moved me the most was the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery where we witnessed the changing of the guard. This particular memorial brings home the huge cost many have paid in the wars this country has been involved in. It is fitting, I believe, we honor those who have fallen in battle. War is horrible. I hate it. Unfortunately, sometimes it becomes necessary.

Gettysburg is the site of the largest battle ever fought in the Americas. The casualties were enormous on both sides. All were Americans. This battlefield memorial is important because it marks the turning point in the U.S. Civil War. Prior to Gettysburg Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia were undefeated. Every attempt at invasion into Virginia by the superior Union Army was cut off and defeated by excellent leadership and hard fighting by the Confederates. However, at Gettysburg, the tide was turned. The battle came to mean so much it was designated a National Battlefield Park. As I said earlier, it is covered in monuments. I was impressed. I had the battle memorized before I went. I had read many books about it. I felt I knew all about each General. However, when I walked around the real thing it really hit home how huge the price that was paid by both sides. There were thousands upon thousands killed and maimed.

In our spiritual journey there will be points where we should erect our own memorials or markers as reminders to us how far we have come and how huge the work is the Lord has done in our Hearts. I believe we should remember the day our Lord saved us. I don’t remember the exact date of mine, but I sure remember the day. I know exactly what happened and how the Lord drew me to Him.

As we grow in Christ we should also mark each step up to the next level. I love watching the spiritual light bulbs go on in a believer’s Heart when the truth about walking in the Spirit becomes a reality for them. I have a marker in my Heart for that day as well. It follows another marker in pretty quick succession though. Just a few weeks earlier I submitted myself completely to the Lordship of Christ. I mark that day as the culmination of several months of drawing closer and closer to Christ each day. Then I surrendered everything to Him and was changed drastically. I remember that day in August 2004 vividly because that was the day I realized my entire value system had been altered. My entire being became directed to God. All I wanted was to do His will and for Him to be glorified in me. Nothing else mattered. It’s coming up on a year since that date and I must say that desire has not diminished at all.

A few weeks later I learned how to walk in Repentance with Joy. That is how we walk in the Spirit. I mark that day as the day the Lord took me to the next spiritual level. Walking in Repentance with Joy keeps our Hearts focused on Christ and away from the Flesh for fulfillment. When we learn how to do this it is a very big day and, yes, we should mark it as well. Why should we mark these days? We need to remind ourselves of the great work the Lord has done in us and where we would be without the Lord’s good work done in our Hearts.

As the Israelites were preparing to cross the Jordan River to take possession of the Land of Promise the Lord directed Joshua to raise a couple of markers to be used as memorials. Interestingly, the stones to be used to make these markers were in the bed of the river itself. How were they to get to them? God had already directed Joshua to have those carrying the Ark of the Covenant to enter the Jordan and stand in the midst of it. (cf. Joshua 3:7-8)

“So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God.” And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.” (Joshua 3:9-13)

What is God’s purpose in having the river crossing done this way? We already know God intends to exalt Joshua in the eyes of the people. We see in these verse that God intends to prove to the people He is with them. The Jordan River was not as deep or as dangerous as the Red Sea, but it was at flood stage. The Jordan is not a big river. It is similar to the puny rivers I grew up with in Oklahoma. However, when it’s the rainy season it can overflow its banks and be hard to cross. I have always been struck by both the similarities and differences between the Red Sea crossing and this crossing of the Jordan River. Both were physically impossible therefore they were miracles. Both involved moving water out of the way so the people could cross on dry ground. However, God provided the Red Sea crossing as a way of escape so they Israelites could be delivered from the pursuing Egyptians. The Israelites were not being threatened by a pursuing army when they crossed the Jordan. Instead they were entering the Land of Promise as an invasion force. God prepared the way all the way from Egypt to this point. He led the way through the wilderness. He provided the way of invasion via this miraculous river crossing.

I have to believe the people were both encouraged and filled with fear when they saw what God did. God used this experience for them to exalt Joshua so they would fear him, and to show them God was completely in control so they should fear and obey Him as well.

“So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.” (Joshua 3:14-17)

I would really like to have seen that. Scoffers really bother me. I simply do not understand why they can’t just understand the creator of the universe can do anything with His creation He wills to do. He is sovereign. He is all-powerful (Omnipotent). He can do anything He wants to do. I just do not understand why people question that, but still want to be “religious” and call themselves Christians. It makes me fell secure and peaceful to know God, who loves me, is totally in control and can not be defeated by anyone or anything. It is also a wonderful thing to learn God’s promises to those in Christ. We are in Christ and there is no power in the universe that can separate us from Him.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39 Emphasis Mine)

He will not drop us or forget about us. We are called to obedience and to walk by faith as we submit to His Lordship. If we do that we will grow in Grace and become Christ-like in greater and greater degrees as He matures us. At each step up in maturity we should set up a spiritual marker so we will remember all God has done for and through us.

“And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying: “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, “Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.”‘ Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, “What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.” And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the LORD had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.” (Joshua 4:1-9 Emphasis Mine)

Did you notice there were to be two separate markers? The twelve stones representing each tribe were taken from the river bed and taken to Gilgal to be erected as a monument. However, Joshua also erected a marker made of twelve stones in the midst of the river. What was the purpose? These were to be markers of remembrance to the people so they would glorify God and be grateful what He had done in cutting off the river water so they could cross on dry land. I like that Joshua erected the mid-river marker at the very spot the priests stood as they carried the Ark of the Covenant. That had to be very a very powerful thing for the children of Israel down through the ages to see that pile of rocks marking the very spot where that happened. And, of course, that is the point.

How about our spiritual markers? What are they made of? I use various things. For my day of total surrender to the Lordship of Christ I use Matthew 11:28-30 and Matthew 16:24-27. I mediate on these passages quite often along with Romans 12:1-2 and James 4: 7-10. These passages are the pillars of my Spirit-led walk. God used them along with a great deal of seeking on my part to draw me into understanding. Never forget the importance of James 1:2-8. That is the passage that reveals God loves to give us Wisdom when we need it the most. In fact all we have to do is ask. I use these passages to remind me of the good work God has done in my Heart. I rotate computer wallpapers that have these passages on them. I have some tacked on the walls of my cubicle at work.

For the day God took me to the next level where He revealed to me how to walk in the Spirit I use some very special songs. I have their lyrics tacked to my cubicle walls as well. I listen to those songs as I work; as I write (I am doing that right now). I like Jeremy Camp’s songs Empty Me and My Desire to remind me how vital it is to live the totally surrendered life. I use Michael W. Smith’s song Breathe as well. If you can, get your hands on the lyrics to those songs. Prayerfully read them; better yet, listen to the songs as you mediate and pray. Pick out your own special songs and scripture passages. Ask God what your Spiritual markers should be. I’m sure He will show you. Whatever yours are and will be they will mean a great deal to you because they will mark a turning point, a step up, to greater spiritual maturity.

“So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over. Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the LORD and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people. And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho. On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.” (Joshua 4:10-14)

The people are now over the river. Joshua has erected the marker in the middle of the river. What was the people’s reaction? Joshua was exalted and feared by them just as Moses was. Why was it important for the people to have this fear of their leader? The word translated “fear” in these passages when talking about the people’s reaction to Moses or Joshua can be translated as “reverence” or “awe”. Did the people revere Moses? Yes! Were they in awe of Him? Yes! Why? God worked through Him in a powerful way. He walked with God and the people knew it. They also feared him. Many died because they rebelled against Moses command or as they tried to usurp his authority. This same reverence and awe and fear they had for Moses is now directed towards Joshua. Why? God is working mightily through him. I am sure they knew they had better obey his commands because he had the same relationship with God Moses had. The crossing of the Jordan River when it was at flood stage made it clear to all who witnessed it God was working through Joshua and was on the side of the Israelites.

The other witnesses to these miracles were the Canaanites in the land. God knows what He is doing. He did this thing in full sight of the people who were about to be conquered and killed by this invasion. The fear they would have at this would have been devastating. They would know they had no chance to fight against God.

“Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, “Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before.” (Joshua 4:15-18)

It is tempting to just fly past these four verses isn’t it? However, let’s pause and reflect on God’s ways of working out His will in our lives.

When we are obedient to God He works good works in our Hearts. He may or may not exalt us before people. He may or may not perform a mighty work before others. We may not notice any change in our circumstances or we may see God do wonderful things all around us. It doesn’t matter about that. What matters is God is faithful. He does what He says He will do. He does not do what He says He will not do. We need to grasp this truth. What happened to the Jordan River after the Ark of the Covenant was out of the river bed? The waters simply returned to normal. No big deal right? However, when we are obedient to what God calls us to do we must understand He is in control. It isn’t us. He will control all of the circumstances we are in. When we obey all of those things that go right and those things that seem to be going wrong are still under his control.

We must pray and seek His face all the way through each circumstance. When we are being obedient that does not mean we will be free from trials. It means we should be even more alert to what is going on so we can prayerfully go through each circumstance for His glory. It is vital we remain faithful through all of this. Why? God is doing a good work in our Hearts as we are faithful. Isn’t that the building up of the Goodness in the treasury of our Hearts? Isn’t this the way we lay up treasure in Heaven? I believe the biggest danger we face in our obedience is on the back side as we relax and focus on what we have done rather than on the good work God has done. When we stay in Spirit-led mode we understand we should erect a Spiritual Marker for each act of faith God takes us through. Whatever He leads us to use we should use for that purpose.

“Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, “What are these stones?’ then you shall let your children know, saying, “Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.” (Joshua 4:19-24)

Our Spiritual Markers should be things which will raise our own consciousness about what the Lord has done in our Hearts as well as when others observe them. Most of mine are somewhat private, but my office at work stands out as a statement of God’s faithfulness. I have my Bible on my desk. I have verses and song lyrics on the walls. My computer wallpaper has various verses and spiritual pictures on it. When people see all of this it becomes a point of conjecture. At the least it shows them there is a difference with me. I pray my unspoken witness, wherever I am, shows people a person who is God focused in all things. The Spirit-led believer is God focused most of the time. The fleshly and Worldly things that attempt to take us back to Egypt are losing more and more of their impact on the Spirit-led believer. The Spiritual Markers of each victory are the evidence of God’s good work in their Hearts. With each marker the progress towards becoming the Humble Servant God wants us all to be is producing Goodness in the treasury of their Heart. Their treasure is being laid up in Heaven. The Spirit-led believer really doesn’t give that much thought as their focus is on God and His glory. He or she does not sit around trying to figure out ways to glorify God. They aren’t attempting to come up with ways or programs that will do that. Instead they seek Him. They believe God and act. They are not too concerned about how godly they appear to other believers. They care deeply how pleased God is with them though. Those believers who are mired in Soul-led religiosity who attempt to please God with their will-powered driven obedience and self-discipline do not understand the Spirit-led believer. There will be conflict and misunderstanding. The Spirit-led don’t jump onto band wagon programs that are designed to try to please God with busy work. They are simply trying to hear God, believe God then obey God.

Oh Lord God, take us deeper. Wash away all of our fleshly driven attempts to please You. Show us the right way to serve You. I pray the reader will understand how vital it is to listen to You then act in obedience. Forgive us where we have tried to please you with our busy work. Don’t hold that against us Lord because we are learning how to follow You. Open our spiritual ears and eyes Lord. I pray for wisdom and discernment for the reader. I pray your truths will come forth like a sharp two-edged sword to cut through the mass of wrong beliefs about You and Your ways. Then Lord, fill the reader with the truth and bless them with your Presence. Fill them with Your Spirit. Teach them how to walk in the Spirit Lord. Change their Hearts so they will seek only to do your will and glorify You with their obedience. I pray the reader will seek humility by your Grace. I pray the reader will seek to banish pride by your Grace. Change them, Lord, into a 24/7 believer. Take away their bent towards Soul-led religiosity. Show them the uselessness of that Lord. I pray you will plant in them an overwhelming understanding Jesus is calling them to come to Him for rest and relief from working hard at religion. I pray they will joyfully take on the Yoke of Christ and walk in Repentance totally submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I pray the reader will have many wonderful Spiritual Markers erected in their Hearts as you take them on their sojourn unto Christ-likeness. All for your Glory Lord, Amen.

God Rolls Away Our Reproach

But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus–setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public–to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it’s now–this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness. (Romans 3:21-26MSG)

I read an article not long ago which referred to a survey MTV had done several years ago about “The Seven Deadly Sins.” The people they surveyed were famous and semi-famous musicians, actors and actresses. The response to things like “pride” and “lust” being sins surprised them all. They disagreed completely that the very things they used to feel good and seek fulfillment were sins. The whole concept about feeling guilty about self-gratification was ruled out. The crux of the whole thing was we should not feel guilt about trying to feel good no matter what methods we use.

There is a huge drive in the secular World to eliminate guilt. The call is for all to be blameless or at least the victims of circumstances. It is tragic when adherence to God’s standards is put down and derided while self-gratification is elevated as most desirable. Where is the guilt? Where is the conviction of sin? Where is the reproach? Reproach is another word for shame.

Many so-called psychological “experts” have called for the complete elimination of guilt. They say it is unhealthy to feel guilt for any perceived violation of some ancient and obsolete set of values. The drive to remove the Ten Commandments from court rooms and public property is in full force. The secular World is doing all it can to eliminate even the concept of a guilty conscience.

However, God is still on the throne. He is in complete control of the creation. He is Holy. He is Pure. He is Righteous, He is Just. His standards of Righteousness have not changed. The Natural Man, on the other hand, is naturally Soul-led. The Natural Man refers to those not in Christ. The Natural Man is self-focused, self-directed and totally cut off from God, does not seek Him nor want anything to do with Him. Ironically, The Natural Man can be very religious. However, The Natural Man is without excuse.

“By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives.” (Romans 1:20-21 MSG)

Man may think he is the king of the hill and is basically good, but the Bible teaches just the opposite.

“For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23 NLT)

What is the source of man’s utter depravity? Man’s Heart is desperately wicked.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

Man’s Heart is made up the Soul and conscience. If man’s Heart is desperately wicked this fact speaks much about how defiled and corrupt the conscience has become. This surely explains the drive to eliminate all that guilt doesn’t it?

The Natural Man is lost and doomed to eternal separation from God, who is Holy, perfectly Righteous and Just. However, God loves man with perfect love. This love is beyond our comprehension.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Jesus Christ, God the Son, left heaven, became a man. He lived a perfect life without sin. This made Him an acceptable sacrifice whose shed blood would satisfy the Father’s demand for a blood sacrifice to pay the price for our sin. He did that so his sacrifice would provide a way for man to be saved.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NLT)

This is amazing! We do not deserve this. However, God provided this sacrifice so we can have eternal life with Him. How do we claim this free gift of salvation?

“For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10 NLT)

It can’t be that easy can it? Yes it is!

“For “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13 NLT)

It is vital we understand salvation comes to those who understand their utter helplessness to save themselves. They must recognize their desperate need for God’s saving Grace. To be saved from the wrath which is coming upon the whole Earth we must make sure we are in Christ. Jesus Christ is Lord. We don’t make Him Lord of our life when we are saved. He is Lord.

“For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory. To him be glory evermore. Amen.” (Romans 11:36 NLT)

Salvation comes to those who understand they are lost who then call on God to save them then submit to Jesus as Lord of their life. He is then their savior. The saved have been given the free gift of eternal life and have been saved from eternal death and separation from God.

Those who have become believers (the saved) are different from what they were before.

“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)

What is this “newness of life?” It means we are a new creation when we are saved. Our old self died. Our new self has come. We have been freed from the bondage to sin. We are no longer a Natural Man.

All in Christ are new creations. Some of us have been believers for many years. Others are fairly new. We are all at various levels of Spiritual Maturity. God’s goal for each of us in Christ is to mature us unto Christ-likeness. That is, we are being sanctified by God putting us into tests and trials of faith so we will exercise it and grow in Grace. We must come to see how helpless we are without Jesus as Lord.

We start building our Treasury of the Heart at the moment of salvation. Our Treasure in Heaven is beginning to be built up with each act of obedience. Salvation itself gives us our citizenship in the Kingdom of God which is the most precious treasure of all. We are learning the truth of being free from the bondage and reproach of sin. We are learning it is God who does the good work in our Hearts, not us. We must depend on God to do His good work in us. We can not do one thing to do it our self. Our part is to seek Him with our whole Heart and to Love Him with our entire being. We must seek His presence constantly and learn to walk in the spirit. That means every part of our lives must come under the Lordship of Christ. We can’t do that with our puny will-power or self-determination or by self-discipline. We can only do that by His Grace as we Abide in Christ. This deep walk with Christ comes out of the circumcision of our Hearts. What is this circumcision? Let’s take a closer look.

As the Israelites were beginning the invasion and conquering of the Land of Promise God had them stop and rest at Gilgal.

“At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt. For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD–to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.” (Joshua 4:2-7)

Okay, okay enough of this circumcision stuff. What does it mean? We have to go back to Abraham in the book of Genesis to get an understanding circumcision.

“I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.” (Genesis 17:6-11) God instituted circumcision, starting with Abraham and his descendants, as a sign of the covenant between Abraham and God. This covenant was instituted by God with Abraham, not the other way around. God had accounted Abraham as righteous. Why? “Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Then He said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.” (Genesis 15:5-7 Emphasis Mine)

Abraham was a believer. He believed God. Circumcision was supposed to be a sign of the covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Unfortunately, it became the very thing the Jews took pride in as they assumed it marked them for salvation. Do you see how they got it backward? It was supposed to be a sign of their circumcised Hearts with God, but instead they looked at it as what saved them. It got so bad the Jews assumed only those who submitted to circumcision would be saved. However, God never said that. He said it was a sign. His standards of salvation have always been the same.

“For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written. For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?” (Romans 2:24-26)

Do you see God’s standards? Is He interested in our “works” and “religiosity” or in our faith and obedience?

“Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:5-7 Emphasis Mine)

God instituted circumcision as a sign of His covenant with Abraham and to mark his salvation. However, in no way does it save anyone.

Circumcision of the Heart is something very special. It is the thing which will remove our reproach. We know what sin is. We know we are saved from the wages of sin when we are saved. The price has been paid. Does that remove our reproach? Think of salvation as the starting point which begins the process of removing it. I know a lot of believers who are good people, but are still in bondage to some besetting sin. They can not get the victory no matter how hard they try. I hope you saw the emphasis. The cause of the lack of victory is in the methods used to attempt to get that victory. They are trying to get the victory through self-discipline and self-will. They can’t do it. They live in defeat and discouragement. They try to be good Christians, but their constant backsliding failures beat them up and lead them back to Egypt. What is the solution? Circumcision of the Heart is the answer.

Look a few paragraphs back at Deuteronomy 30:5-7 again. God does it. What does it entail? Whatever it is it causes us to love the LORD with all our heart and with all our soul. What does that? It is the remolding of our Hearts God does as we go hard after Him with our whole being. When we submit to the Lordship of Christ in every area of our lives He does a good work in our Hearts which causes this wonderful fruit of true salvation to be produced there. This overwhelming Love the Spirit-led have for God comes from this. The Treasury of the Heart becomes full of Goodness and exudes this intense Love for God.

So, who has a circumcised Heart? The Spirit-led do. Do the Soul-led? No, they do not. They are not led by the Spirit. They are led by their desires. They go after self-gratification. They are overwhelmed by besetting sins which drag them back to Egypt with fleshly hooks. They still wear the reproach of Egypt instead of having it rolled away by God. How does God roll our reproach away? Well, we have to say no to our going back to Egypt. How do we do that? We must become Spirit-led. How do we do that? We must go hard after God. We must seek His presence as much and as diligently as we can. We must not let up, ever! When we do this we start spending a great deal of time in prayer, worship and Bible study and fellowship with other believers. When we do that the Lord will draw us closer and closer to Him. As we do that we will eventually submit entirely to the Lordship of Christ. It is at this moment we enter into a deeper relationship with the Lord. It is at this period of time the Lord will circumcise our Hearts. He will break down the hard, callous layer which “hardens” our Hearts. This will make us Tender-Hearted. It is only a matter of time before He draws us into walking in the Spirit.

What is the result of having a circumcised Heart? We have already seen God will do it and then we will love Him with our entire being in an ever increasing way. What else? We will have victory over besetting sins. That, of course, is the going back to Egypt the Soul-led continually do. That is giving in to self-desire and self-gratification. It is saying no to God. The reproach of Egypt is still on the Soul-led, but it has been rolled away by God from those who have a circumcised Heart. When Joshua circumcised the Israelites at Gilgal he was symbolically doing what God does in the Hearts of the Spirit-led.

“So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed. Then the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.” (Joshua 5:8-9)

The Hebrew word “Gilgal” means “rolling”. It is a wonderful thing to have the reproach of Egypt rolled away from our Hearts. It allows us to have victory over besetting sins. How does it do that? Well, it fills us with an intense and unending love for God doesn’t it? What is the effect of this intense Love for God in our Hearts? We become filled with Joy. Joy is far superior to happiness. Happiness is based on circumstances so it does not last. Joy is chosen by us and is part of the fruit of the Spirit. Joy is very powerful. Joy is strength.

“Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

I must admit I never understood how Joy could be my strength until I started experiencing it in large doses. When did that happen? It started for me when I submitted to the Lordship of Jesus and learned to walk in the spirit. I would find myself loving God so intensely that I would be full of His Joy. When this happened Egypt had no power over me whatsoever. However, when I let my guard down and started giving in to my Hearts desires to be fulfilled in anything worldly or fleshly then that Joy would be gone and I would sin. How I hate going back to Egypt!

So, how does God roll away our reproach? He circumcises our Hearts. When does He do that? He does it when we become Spirit-led. The Spirit-led do not walk around in shame. The Spirit-led are humble and victorious. Many interpret that walk as pride, but it is the opposite. Genuine Humility takes what other see as risks which are actually steps of faith. So their confidence in God and His Grace, which is faith being acted upon, is actually humility because it is total dependence on God not self.

The Soul-led are ashamed which causes them to see themselves in as no better than worms. They want to stop going to Egypt because their guilty conscience and the Holy Spirit are continually after them to repent. They try to repent, but they try via will-power. That doesn’t work for long. They are still wearing their reproach. Their walk may appear to be humble because of their lack of confidence of who they are in Christ and their unwillingness to take risks. However, that walk is actually one of pride. Pride masquerades as humility with this self-deprecating stance. It refuses to step out on faith, or take a risk, because that would expose the lack of actual spiritual maturity.

What are the benefits of having a circumcised Heart? I think one of the biggest and best parts of having God circumcise our Hearts is the sudden release from the bondage to that old way of desperately seeking fulfillment from the World through the flesh. In other words, we become free from the domination of our “OLD MAN” character who only wants to go back to Egypt. The reproach of Egypt is preferable to him over the risk of stepping out on faith. With a God circumcised Heart we can totally nullify our “OLD MAN’s” power and influence. God changes our Hearts desire from one of self-gratification to God glorification. We have become free of the reproach, or shame, of continually failing because of besetting sins. We can now say yes to God and no to self knowing full well we have godly treasure coming our way. Our Heart’s treasury of Goodness is being built up. The treasuring of the treasure becomes stronger, more intense and viable in our walk by faith because our Heart’s desire is on the eternal not the temporal. We also, with our reproach removed, are no longer carrying around that burden of shame. We become confident in whom we are in Christ. We do not become arrogant or self-righteous. We remain humble, but totally sure of our relationship with Christ and the power and peace that come with it. However, the very best benefit of having a circumcised Heart is this ever growing and all consuming love we have for God. It grows continually. It is the source of much of our Joy. It is a huge power source. Our focus is completely fixated on God being glorified in us as we do His will. We Love Him and we know without Him we can do nothing. With our reproach rolled away we take on eternal focus which makes possible our walk by faith.

God Fights Our Battles

As Joshua approached the city of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man facing him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you friend or foe?” “Neither one,” he replied. “I am commander of the LORD’s army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?” The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for this is holy ground.” And Joshua did as he was told. (Joshua 5:13-15 NLT)

There are times when I feel overwhelmed and helpless. During those times I believe I am about to be overcome by the enemy. I look at the work of putting together whatever book I’m writing or lesson I’m preparing or my lack of spiritual maturity when I’m discipling someone or just interacting with people I work with and I become discouraged and overwhelmed by the impossibility of it all. What’s wrong? Don’t I have the Holy Spirit? Aren’t I a Spirit-led believer? Aren’t I doing what God wants me to do? By-the-way, those aren’t the right questions to ask. Those are all asked with the focus on me and my abilities or the work I am doing. I have stopped treasuring the treasure and have turned my Heart’s desire onto something other than God’s glory. Oh, I may deeply desire for God to be glorified in me, but on my terms. Do you see how stupid this is? Once again I have turned my focus away from God and the all-sufficiency of His Grace and have put it on me and my abilities.

God allows us to go that way for a while and it get’s discouraging in a hurry. If we persist despair is next on the agenda. If we don’t pull out of that we end up in a deep pit of despair. I always picture that as a sticky morass of self-pity at the very bottom of a deep spiritual trough or valley. God allows us to sink to that level sometimes so we can get our focus readjusted. What is the real problem? The problem is a lack of understanding of two facts which causes us to walk around as if we are defeated when we should be walking in victory.

The first fact is we are in a spiritual battle all the time. If we are in Christ we are saved and should have no fear of losing our salvation, however, we have two enemies who deeply desire to make us think we are on the verge of doing that very thing.

“For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12 NLT)

The first enemy is Satan and his army of demons. Who is our other enemy? It is self. Well, not our redeemed self, but our “OLD MAN” character who is still hanging around wanting us to give up on this spiritual growth nonsense and get busy going after self-gratification back in Egypt. He does not value godly treasure at all.

“…throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception” (Ephesians 4:22 NLT)

These two enemies are clever, stealthy and experts in the art of the ambush. Their only desire is to defeat us and make us fleshly and ineffective in the Kingdom.

The second fact is our part in the battle with our enemies is mostly defensive. Our Lord fights the offensive battles for us. Sadly, we try to fight our own battles, both the offensive and defensive, with inadequate weapons. Our enemies know this and come at us from ambush, deceit and circumstance with frightening looking weapons which easily defeat us. We end up in full retreat. Why? We do not understand it is God who is to fight against these enemies not us. Our part is to be armored so we can withstand the attack and remain standing.

“…Be strong with the Lord’s mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11 NLT)

To keep from sinking into despair, discouragement and defeat we must understand these two facts then take action. Our two enemies are to be fought or resisted with very different weapons and tactics. Let’s look at the spiritual warfare against Satan and his demons first.

We must understand clearly we are in a battle or war that will not end until we make it to Heaven.

“This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.” (Ephesians 6:12 MSG)

I really don’t understand why Satan hates us so much, but he does. His goal is to keep as many people as possible from living lives which glorify God. How does he do that? He lies to the lost keeping them from the truth of the Gospel while targeting believers with lies about God and how much He loves and cares for us. We have eternal life in Christ. He can’t take that away from us, but he can do things which will cause some to live lives which do not glorify God. You already know who lives that way don’t you? The Soul-led do that. The Soul-led are living lives which are in total retreat much of the time. They are nearly powerless and so are walking in defeat more often than not.

The Spirit-led are powerful in the Lord, but not invulnerable. We can make mistakes which cause us to become easy targets. Have you ever watched a boxing match? One style of boxing has the boxers use one of their arms as a defensive weapon and the other one for offense. The defensive arm is always up and held out or bent with the glove out in front of the face to protect it. This keeps the opponent from being able to get a good jab or punch into the head. However, if the boxer lets his guard down by lowering that defensive arm he is vulnerable. If the opponent is quick he can get a good left or right cross into the jaw or side of the head. The boxer who lets his guard down is in trouble. He is in danger of being knocked out or knocked down. At the least he will lose points. In our spiritual battle we must keep our guard up. That requires diligence. There can be no laziness or sloppiness here. Only the diligent understand there can be no let up in our vigilant, watchful care of our Heart’s condition.

“Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet.” (Ephesians 6:13 MSG)

What weapons did God issue to us? Will just the possession of the weapon be enough? What about training? Are all believers equally adept at using these weapons? Let’s see.

“Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:14-18 NASB)

How can truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation be weapons? The sword of the spirit sounds like a weapon though. Let’s look at them closely.

Remember back in Ephesians 6:13 we read Paul’s exhortation to be prepared and to stand. Well, that is actually how we must utilize these weapons. We must be willing and prepared to use them. We must be that Spirit-led believer who will stand in the gap and not compromise with heresies, false teachings about God or attempts to sow deceit and mistrust in the Body of Christ or lay self-righteous, judgmental guilt on the lost no matter how tempting it is to do so.

We must remember who the enemy is. Satan has no power over believers unless they give it to Him. The Spirit-led fear God not Satan. The proper fear of God breeds an attitude which defies worldly logic. Yes, there are risks and dangers in this 21^st Century world gone mad. There are terrorists, both foreign and domestic. There is always the chance a tornado, hurricane or earthquake could ruin your day. The airplane you are flying in could crash, but so could your car you commute in everyday. However, the Spirit-led believer who takes the weapons God issues to them and takes the stands of defense God directs them to do does not really fear any of those things. He or she fears God instead. This means he or she has come to understand God is in complete control. If He has determined we will die on a certain day at a certain time then we will. He is the one who sets our lifespan. With that in mind why should we become paralyzed with fear when a mad sniper is on the loose in our city? Why should we fear if perhaps a rage driven motorist might take out his frustrations on us? We shouldn’t. We need to be afraid of one thing only, letting God down. He is our Heavenly Father who loves us.

To stand is both how we use our weapons God has issued to us and the goal in using them. We seek to stand and not falter and the correct use of the weapons of this spiritual warfare will accomplish it.

What is the first weapon? “…HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH …” (Ephesians 6:14 NASB) Our first weapon is truth. Paul the Apostle uses an analogy of comparing its function with the belt a first century Roman soldier would use. The Roman soldiers of that era wore loose fitting tunics. The loose fitting garment would be in the way during hand-to-hand combat so, in preparation for battle, the soldiers would tie up the loose ends of their tunics with a sturdy belt. This lessened the chances of tripping over the flowing garment or being hung up somehow by it. How does this analogy reveal how we should use truth? The Spirit-led believer lives a life devoid of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is living a life based on lies or deceit. A life full of hypocrisy is a defeated life. It is a life in bondage. The Spirit-led have dedicated themselves to becoming Christ-like. They do not compromise on the standard of truthfulness which Christ’s demands from His disciples.

How does this “belt of truth” help us fight this spiritual battle? If we are living lives based completely upon the truths revealed in the Bible then we will leave no opening for accusations from the enemy against our character. We must dedicate ourselves to learning and knowing the Word of God as deep and complete as we can. Why? It will become written on our Hearts. When that happens we become the mature believers God wills for us to be and we will not stumble around over any false doctrine that becomes popular.

“For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.” (Proverbs 3:2-4)

To fight this battle we must start with God’s truth. It is where we start and it will stick us to God’s will like glue. If we desire to center out lives in the center of God’s will then we must learn and apply God’s truth to every part of our life.

What is our second weapon? “…PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Ephesians 6:14 NASB) Think of the breastplate as our modern-day body armor. What does body armor do? It keeps our enemies weapons from penetrating our vital organs by providing a protective layer of armor which can stop those weapons. What is this spiritual warfare body armor made of? It’s God’s righteousness. How can that defeat our enemy’s weapons? God’s righteousness speaks of God’s holiness. What is that? It is the distinctive attribute of God that is higher, purer and separate from the World and its sinful ways. We looked closely at this in the chapter “Holiness.”

How do we use this weapon? How can we acquire God’s righteousness? How would this protect us? We take on God’s character by becoming Christ-like. How do we become Christ-like? We must mature and become Spirit-led believers who are constantly walking pure and holy before our Lord in and by His power. When we do that we are covered in Heart armor, not body armor. This Heart armor shields our Hearts from the defilement of the ways of the World because the Spirit-led are jettisoning those things from their life which defile them and instead are taking on godly things. They are fasting from the flesh and feasting on God. This causes a move towards separation from the world. The Spirit-led are constantly living this way. As they do this they take on the mind of Christ. This means they have become transformed and have become qualitatively more Christ-like. The call back to Egypt is easily ignored by the Spirit-led believer as he or she “does all they can do to stand firm.” Why? Their character has been altered as God has granted them repentance. Satan’s call to be prideful or self-focused is easily deflected by this Heart armor of Christ’s very character.

So far we have our loins girded by God’s Truth. That keeps us from stumbling over false doctrine, false teaching and false preaching. It also removes the hypocrisy from our character which would cause us to live compromised lives if tolerated. Along with that our Heart is protected by Heart Armor which is God’s Righteousness. This causes us to take on His very Righteousness which changes our character. This character change is bringing us to Christ-likeness. When our Heart is armored in God’s Righteousness it is protected from defilement from ungodly, worldly, fleshly thoughts, ideas and conformity to the world. What’s the big deal? What do our thoughts have to do with sin? We need to understand where sin comes from to answer that.

“For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world.” (1 John 2:16)

“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.” (James 1:14-16)

Sin’s sources: (cf. 1 John 2:16; James 1:14-16)

The Lust of the Flesh
The Lust of the Eyes
The Pride of Life
Our own desires

If we deeply desire to be free from besetting sin then we should understand where it originates and how to defeat it. This study on using our God-issued weapons correctly shows us what to look out for and how to stand in victory. So…let’s continue.

What is our third mighty weapon? …having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE…” (Ephesians 6:15 NASB) Roman soldiers wore a type of boot with spikes or large nails in them to grip the ground. These were intended to enable them to stand firm while in hand-to-hand combat. What is the analogy between these ground gripping boots and the Gospel of peace? The believer has accepted Jesus as Lord and savior. When that happens he or she receives eternal life and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is very important for us to understand the believer is now at peace with God. Prior to salvation we are all God’s enemies. At the moment of salvation we are changed.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we havepeace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)

If we fully understand the enormity of our common salvation how shall we live?

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3)

When that deep and wonderful understanding of true salvation becomes firmly implanted in the forefront of our consciousness our spiritual feet will also be firmly planted in the center of God’s will. We will not be pulled away or knocked down by anything our enemy can throw at us. He will not be able to convince us we are God’s unloved step-children. He will not be able to move us at all when we stand this way.

We have peace with God. He is on our side. He wants only the best for us. When tests and trials come or our enemy tries to wreck our faith and effectiveness by getting us to go back to Egypt we must stand firm. We can do that because our confidence is in God and His power and love for us not our own puny strength. The Soul-led have a problem with this. This is why they walk in defeat most of the time. They are constantly going back to Egypt by giving in to those besetting sins. The Spirit-led are in-tune with God. They are living for Him and His glory, not theirs. When tests and trials come or the enemy attacks they depend on God to fight the battle as they stand firmly right where God wants them to stand. They can do that because they know even if they die by whatever is going on it is wonderful because God is in control and His will is right and perfect. Their life is for His use not theirs. He is the master they are the empty chosen vessel to be used as He wills. His glory is paramount not their survival. With this attitude in place the Spirit-led believer will stand firm no matter what comes their way. This is the life which lays up treasure in Heaven. This is the Heart whose treasury if being filled to overflowing with God’s Goodness. This is the believer who is becoming Christ-like.

What is our fourth weapon? “in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16 NASB) The Greek word used for “shield” in this verse refers to the large leather and wooden shield the Roman soldiers used to stand behind. It was large enough to protect the whole body. In some cases the soldiers would put all the shields together to form a type of “turtle shell” that would protect many from an arrow attack. This weapon is for our complete protection from the temptation attacks of our enemy. Satan shoots at us with arrows of fire such as “resentment”, “lust”, “self-protection”, “simulated attacks on our pride” and many other things which would normally cause an unprotected believer to fall and not stand. However the prepared believer will stand behind their shield of faith and not be affected by this attack. This faith is our basic trust in God, His faithfulness and power. If our faith is weak then our shield of faith will be small and not as effective. If we are fully trusting God and are living the Spirit-led life then our shield of faith will be large enough to catch all of these fiery arrows before they hit our Hearts.

The Roman soldiers would soak the leather part of their shields with oil so the fiery arrows would be extinguished on impact. When our faith is dynamic and constantly growing it is like that. As each fiery temptation hits we should rely on this faith to extinguish them. A word of warning—the more we grow in grace and have our faith built up the more Satan targets us. However, we should have absolutely no fear of him. Fear God and turn over all of the battles to Him. It is not cowardly to do this. It is wise and more importantly, it is God’s will. He never intended for us to fight it out with Satan. We should let God do all of that for us. We are told to simply stand and not fall away fully using all of the armor God has issued to us.

What is our fifth weapon? “…take THE HELMET OF SALVATION…” (Ephesians 6:17 NASB) This weapon should be easy for us understand. The helmet protects the soldier’s head. Without our heads we would be dead. Sorry…chuckle. The helmet of salvation is not what saves us. This message is to people who are already believers so it can’t be referring to taking on a weapon to become a believer. No, this is talking about our assurance of salvation. I really get frustrated when I come across people who say our salvation is conditional on our performance. No it isn’t. The quality of it may be but not the fact of it. There have been and will be multitudes of people who look like the real thing, but are not. They know how to “do church”, but they don’t know the savior. When these people eventually fall away there are some who will say they lost their salvation, but the Word of God is clear they never were saved to begin with.

“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” (1 John 2:19 Emphasis Mine)

The truly saved will remain in Christ. The problem is the Soul-led live lives that are not full of assurance of salvation so they doubt the veracity of it. The Spirit-led have no problem with assurance. They know God deeply and commune with Him a great deal. With that sort of relationship there will be assurance with no doubting. The helmet of salvation is that assurance. How does this assurance work in shielding us from the enemy’s attacks? Since our assurance provides protection against Satan’s attempt to get us to be discouraged and doubtful we must do those things which will make it strong. I know of only one way. That is to be in a dynamic and deep relationship with God. Nothing else will do it. When we live this way our Spirit bears witness with the Holy Spirit to build that assurance.

“God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children” (Romans 8:16 MSG)

God loves us and wants our assurance to be deep and dynamic. Why? So we will have the ability to not be driven to discouragement and doubt by the attacks of Satan. However, sometimes we make bad decisions like becoming self-focused. This opens us up for attack because we have let our guard down. Doubt and discouragement are designed to make us ineffective. We must keep our guard up and we must not take our assurance for granted. We must cultivate an environment where it grows stronger and more vital to our walk by faith.

If we say we have assurance, but spend the minimum amount of time in His presence then we are lying. There is no way the helmet of salvation could be functioning for a believer who never puts it on. As we spend more and more time with Him we are putting on and leaving on that helmet. We don’t reach down, pick it up and put it on when the battle starts. We put it on before the battle. We put it on when we seek to stay in God’s presence continually. Who does this? The Spirit-led do this. The Soul-led are usually walking through this life wearing their helmet only at church. That is like a football player suiting up to hear the coach tell the team the game plan for next week’s game then when the game starts they find they left their helmet back in the locker room. They aren’t even allowed in the game without it.

The Soul-led are self-focused and after self-gratification above all else. They not only don’t know where their helmet of salvation is, they don’t remember where they left their belt of truth, their Heart armor, their shoes of the Gospel of peace or their shield of faith. It is so hard to remember how to use them anyway, why bother. They just get in the way while watching TV.

The Spirit-led got that way by learning how to properly use this godly armor. They know that these weapons are defensive and designed specifically to allow them to stand firm. They know it is God who fights the offensive battles.

There is one weapon left. Actually it is a pair of weapons that work together in a mighty way to defeat our enemy.

“…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints…” (Ephesians 6:17-18 NASB)

The Greek word “sword” here means the small two edged sword that Roman soldiers carried. It was between 6 to 18 inches long. It was small, but it was all they needed. They were so well armored they simply had to learn to fight as a unit and use all of their weapons correctly so they would be successful. How does this analogy work for us in this spiritual battle? The sword in this analogy is clearly the Word of God, the Bible. How can that be our only offensive weapon? The Word of God is infinitely more powerful than any weapon Satan has. The Roman soldier used his sword for both defense (deflection) and offense (attack). The believer should us the Word of God both ways as well.

Having scripture written on our Hearts is vital. (cf. Proverbs 3:2-4) Why? When we know God’s word we can use it to defeat the enemy when he attacks us. Jesus did that. The following passage is long, but be patient, take your time, read, reflect and meditate on God’s truths revealed here.

“Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: “Since you are God’s Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread.” Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.” For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, “Since you are God’s Son, jump.” The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: “He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone.” Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: “Don’t you dare test the Lord your God.” For the third test, the Devil took him on the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth’s kingdoms, how glorious they all were. Then he said, “They’re yours–lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they’re yours.” Jesus’ refusal was curt: “Beat it, Satan!” He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: “Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.” The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus’ needs.” (Matthew 4:1-11 MSG)

This passage is a wonderful example of the “offensive” as well as the “defensive” use of the sword of the Spirit. Did you also notice how Jesus prepared for these tests? What did He do? He fasted and prayed. The praying is implied, but Jesus is a great example showing us how we should seek the face of God as much as possible. Fasting is an awesome spiritual tool. I admit I was skeptical the first few times I attempted it. However, each time I have found myself in a completely new spiritual place. God has shown me fasting is a deep, personal example of self-denial. When we fast we are denying our Heart’s attempt at fulfillment from the flesh. This makes seeking the Lord for fulfillment much easier. To fast correctly we must do it as fasting and feasting. That means, fasting from food while feasting on God. It is amazing how this principle works to bring us closer to the Lord.

What weapons did Jesus use while being tempted and tested? He quoted scripture and he fasted and prayed as He stood firm. Satan can not defeat the believer who does this. The rest of the armor is for protection from the ambush and the deceitful attacks which are designed to discourage and make us ineffective and to retreat. However, the sword of the Spirit and prayer (yes that is the second weapon in this pair) are God empowered offensive weapons which make Satan flee. God fights our battles. Our part is to use the weapons He gave us. The sword of the Spirit and prayer are mighty weapons which release God’s power against the enemy.

Many are skeptical about God and answered prayer. Why? I believe it is for various reasons, but probably because they aren’t praying God’s will so they never experience the blessing of having direct answers from God they understand. God answers all prayer one of three ways. He will say “yes”, He will say “no” or He will say “wait.” Why would God say no? Here are some people who will not hear “yes” or “wait” from God when they pray.

The disobedient (cf. Deuteronomy 1:45; Isaiah 14:37; Isaiah 28:6)
Those who hold on to sin (cf. Psalm 66:18)
The indifferent (cf. Proverbs 1:28)
The unmerciful (cf. Proverbs 21:13)
Those who despise the Law (cf. Proverbs 28:9)
Those who shed blood (cf. Isaiah 1:15)
Those living in sin (cf. Isaiah 59:2; Micah 3:4)
The stubborn (cf. Zechariah 7:13)
Those who waiver (cf. James 1:6-7)
The self-indulgent (cf. James 4:3)

The people who would be found matching one or more of these behaviors which disqualify them from having God responding to them in prayer have one thing in common. What is it? They are self-focused. There is an element of disobedience to God in every one of these examples. Their focus is on self. They are self-directed and completely driven by self-gratification. They do not have genuine humility as one of their major character markers; do they? Pride marks their character. That is why they are fully focused on self-gratification. How does God respond to the proud compared to the humble?

“And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.” (James 4:6 MSG)

The proud may make an attempt at prayer, but God’s reactions are one that speaks of Him giving them “a cold shoulder.” That means He will not respond positively to the believer who is full of pride and, therefore, is praying selfishly. They are praying for “stuff.” They may pray for improved health or the miraculous, but their motives are still based on “self.” They are suffering from a condition called Hard-Heartedness which means they are full of unbelief.

How are we to pray so God will come and fight our battles like He says He will? We must have a condition called Tender-Heartedness. Here are some of its attributes.

Wholly God-Focused Heart (cf. Deuteronomy 4:29; Jeremiah 29:13)
Contrite Heart (cf. 2 Chronicles 7:14; Isaiah 58:9)
Believing Heart (cf. Mark 11:24)
Righteous Heart (cf. James 5:16)
Obedient Heart (cf. 1 John 3:22; 1 John 5:14)

The Tender-Hearted believer prays and get’s answers. That does not mean they always hear “yes” or “wait”, but they do not run in defeat and discouragement when God does say “no” either. Why? The Tender-Hearted believer knows it isn’t about them. They know it’s all about God and His glory. They have no problem with that, because they are humble.

I placed a scripture from Joshua 5 at the beginning of this chapter. It is about the events just after the crossing of the Jordan River and just prior to the siege and conquering of Jericho. Here it is again.

“As Joshua approached the city of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man facing him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you friend or foe?” “Neither one,” he replied. “I am commander of the LORD’s army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?” The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for this is holy ground.” And Joshua did as he was told.” (Joshua 5:13-15 NLT)

This passage is awesome. The “Man” Joshua encounters is no normal man. Joshua meets the pre-incarnate Christ and as soon as He reveals this fact to Joshua he knows it immediately. What does he do? He falls before Him and worships Him in complete humility and submission. He does not ask for stuff. He does not even ask for victory. What does he say? “I am at your command. What do you want your servant to do?” Well, that should be our attitude toward our Lord always and especially when praying. Real prayer happens as we enter the throne room and come boldly to the throne of grace.

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:17)

Yes, we should come boldly because we do so by His grace, but also we must understand whom we are seeking. We are coming to the throne of God. He does Love us and wants to bless and grow us, but He will not compromise any part of His character or alter His will just so we can be happy in our circumstances. Joshua humbled himself, worshipped and submitted entirely to the Lord. He was obedient. He would remain obedient for the rest of his life. Our attitude before our Lord while in prayer should be to seek His will and pray along those lines. Yes, we should ask for his divine protection for our families, people traveling and those in combat in foreign countries. Yes, we should ask for His healing touch on those who are sick. Yes, we should ask for wisdom. Yes, we should ask the salvation of the lost. Yes, we should ask for His peace to come through us to all those around us. But in all of the things we ask, we should seek His will to be done above all.

Correct praying is done as we seek the mind of Christ. We must become so close to God we are in tune with His will. When we do that we will pray His will. However, the opposite is more often true of us isn’t it? When we pray from the center of self-focus we get the following results.

“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” (James 4:3)

Praying correctly prepares us for the battle and helps us stand during it. Praying selfishly prepares us only to retreat and be defeated. When Satan attacks the prepared believer what happens? The prepared, Spirit-led, Tender-Hearted praying believer stands using all of their God-issued weapons. When it gets really rough he or she will call on God to deliver them and He does. Do not misunderstand! We are talking here about the spiritual battle that comes at us to defeat us into ineffectiveness. It is God’s will we learn to do all we can to stand against our enemy, but call on Him to defeat the serpent. He does that as we use the sword of the Spirit and Prayer.

What about our other enemy? Remember him? He’s our “OLD MAN” sin nature. He is all about self. He is a craven, sneaky, selfish, greedy, miserly, fleshly, prideful idol constructor. He is totally dead spiritually. He does not know or understand God. He only wants to be fed. His only drive is to indulge himself in anything and everything that feeds self-gratification. His main attack method is distraction followed by ambush. No matter how much we desire for him to die and go away he is still there. What can we do to defeat him? Well, God fights our battles. Never forget that.

If we try to fight the “OLD MAN” with our puny weapons we will eventually fail. Will power is the main weapon we attempt to use against him. The problem is he is sneaky and knows how to wait us out. He knows we can’t keep it up very long. We will get tired then distracted and then wham, here comes the ambush. We will then suddenly find ourselves in the midst of some fleshly sin we thought was conquered a long time ago. This can be very discouraging. If we can’t defeat him with our will power, then how do we do it?

The “OLD MAN” sin nature is defeated and made powerless by God and His work in our Heart. We must obtain, cherish and utilize power from God. We looked closely at that in the chapter “Real Power.” We must become Spirit-led. Only the Spirit-led can live a life in victory over the “OLD MAN” sin nature. The following passage is another “good read.” Please take your time. Devour it, meditate on it and look closely at our role in becoming Spirit-led as well as God’s.

“So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or be jealous of one another.” (Galatians 5:16-26 NLT)

The Spirit-led has matured and been changed from the inside out as he or she has totally surrendered and submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. God has changed their “Heart’s desire” by circumcising their Heart. What put the Spirit-led in position so God would do this? They “nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.” This is the act of submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That act says, “Jesus, you are Lord! I submit myself to your Lordship in every part of my life.” Well, we might not use those exact words, but in our Hearts we did this. When we did this “completely” God changed us over time as we learned to stay in His presence.

Everyone in Christ, the truly saved, has the Holy Spirit. They became saved when they accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. They may not have completely surrendered all parts of their lives to Him yet, but that process is ongoing. The Holy Spirit is constantly working on sanctifying our Hearts to bring us to total surrender. This surrender is that point when we submit completely to the Lordship of Jesus. The Spirit-led are totally surrendered. There is nothing held back. Look again at the passage we just read. The Holy Spirit leads us. Where does he reside in each believer? In our Spirit! The definition of “Spirit-led” is “a believer whose Soul is subordinate to his or her Spirit which in turn is led and directed and controlled by the Holy Spirit.” Doesn’t this match the process in Galatians 5:16-26? What is the outcome of becoming Spirit-led? The fruit of the Spirit is produced in our Hearts. That is—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Now, if these attributes are dominant markers of our character will the “OLD MAN” sin nature be in control? No, the Spirit-led believer is walking in the Spirit not the flesh. The flesh and all its sinful desires are nailed to the cross. What part did God play in all this? The Holy Spirit leads, directs and controls our Spirits while the Father prunes us as Jesus feeds us from His table (teaches us the truth). We are changed from the inside out by a very gracious and good God who loves us and wants us to walk in complete Spirit-led victory over the serpent and our “OLD MAN” sin nature. The really cool thing is He fights the offensive battle for us and gives us mighty defensive weapons to stand and not retreat back to Egypt.

The believer who obediently stands using the armor God issued them while calling on God to fight off the enemy is laying up treasure in Heaven. The treasury of their Hearts is being filled with Goodness. Their “OLD MAN” sin nature is being starved. He is becoming weak and feeble. He still demands to be fed occasionally, but the alert, diligent, Spirit-led believer treats those sinful desires as rubbish or sewage because God has granted them repentance as He has changed their Hearts. They are becoming Christ-like and so are becoming possessors of the Treasure.

God Demolishes Our Strongholds

Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go in or out. But the LORD said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its mighty warriors. Your entire army is to march around the city once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the horns, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the walls of the city will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the city.” (Joshua 6:1-5 NLT)

After I learned to walk in the Spirit I became very excited. I, of all people, had learned to walk in the Spirit! I was amazed. I was so full of Joy I felt I would burst. Over time I calmed down, but the Joy remained as I walked in obedience. Then one day I suddenly found myself right in the middle of a sin (anger) I thought I had left far behind. It was devastating. The steps to get to that point happened so fast I had a hard time coming to understand what had gone wrong. I repented correctly and went after the Lord very hard. I wanted to know what was wrong. How could I have slipped that far that fast?

Interestingly, the Lord didn’t reveal the truth to me right away. Unfortunately, the same failure kept popping up. It would always happen when I would least expect it. It was very frustrating. Obviously there was something in my Heart I had not completely surrendered to the Lord. I was sure I had, but there had to be something I had missed. I did notice, though, every incident happened when I would perceive that someone had been lazy or incompetent or arrogant with me. In every case there actions (or lack of action) would be a challenge to me. Shouldn’t I have picked up on the fact I was reacting out of pride? I actually did pick up on that and I dealt with each incident biblically. However, it kept happening.

Right after that I started working on this book. A few of those “incidents” nailed me as I started my research. I was seeking God with my whole Heart. I was seeking His Glory above all things. I wanted to write only what He wanted me to write. I was praying. I was worshipping. And, I was getting nailed by this sin over and over again. I just didn’t get it.

As I started writing the chapters about spiritual warfare it all started coming together. I was the victim of a sneak attack from the enemy with full cooperation from my “OLD MAN” sin nature. I had let my guard down. I had opened myself up to an ambush. The enemy and my “OLD MAN” sin nature had conspired to attack me by using one or more strongholds they had built in my Heart.

What is a stronghold? It is a deeply embedded pattern of behavior that is used habitually by us when we walk according to the flesh, but not when we walk according to the Spirit. Its use will always result in behavior which is not Christ-like. Prior to becoming Spirit-led, when we were Soul-led, these strongholds were not really noticed unless they resulted in very extreme behavior. They appeared to be just behaviors that we tried to use to get fulfillment from fleshly behavior. In other words they are behaviors that we used because we believed the lies from the enemy and our sin nature that they would bring us fulfillment. Of course they never did bring that fulfillment because they can’t.

What sort of behaviors become strongholds? Any activity that builds up or comes from our pride would qualify. The prideful person is all about self. Pride is the root of all strongholds. Pride was Satan’s downfall (cf. 1 Timothy 3:6). When he enticed Adam and Eve to sin in Genesis 3 he infected mankind with the disease as well. Pride is antithetical to God’s standard of genuine humility.

Pride is also the root of Idolatry of the Heart. That means we are “gods” and we worship ourselves. What that means is the fall in Genesis 3 made all mankind like a god because we no longer live for God, but for self only. That is one of the things salvation rights. However, even after salvation Idolatry of the Heart is still there and needs to be brought down. Every time we behave within a stronghold we are worshipping and serving Idolatry of the Heart. Shouldn’t we try to get rid of this?

Behaviors that become strongholds are anger, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, guilt (not forgiving self), inferiority, pornography, timidity, fear, materialism, perverted sexual pleasures, perfectionism, laziness, etc. All of these are based around self-gratification and, therefore, pride. Since our Hearts are desperate for fulfillment we are especially weak in resisting these behaviors. When we partake of any of these over and over again in such a way that it becomes a habit then we have been ensnared by the lies of our enemy and our sin nature. Notice that some of the things on this incomplete list are negative behaviors. Our corrupt Hearts will always go after negative behaviors for fulfillment when positive behaviors are not available. In fact, many become so ensnared in their resentments and bitterness their very character takes on those patterns.

Some strongholds are the result of trauma. Severe abuse can cause deep wounds in our Hearts. Even a one time event can be so traumatic strongholds of bitterness, anger and resentment can be set up and used for shelter. Yes, this is a shame, but all strongholds are rooted in fleshly and worldly values and behaviors which are based on the lies of our enemy and sin nature which feed our pride.

What’s the solution? The Spirit-led believer is not perfect. Perfection awaits in Heaven. We must not become discouraged when we fail. Yes, we should repent, seek the Lord’s face and let Him lift us up when we fail.

“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.” (James 4:7-10 NLT)

After God cleanses us we should seek Him even more. We should ask Him to show us what’s wrong. Why do we keep having this problem?

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT)

What’s going to happen when we pray that scripture back to God? He will speak the truth to us. If we are walking closely with Him then we will hear it from Him as wisdom. He could also reveal the truth to us from scripture or a sermon or Bible study or circumstances. Whatever it takes He will show us what the problem is. It may not be immediate though. In my case I had to research spiritual warfare and obediently start writing about it to get the answer.

Strongholds are patterns of behaviors that have become bad spiritual habits. The bricks these strongholds are constructed of are the lies we have believed. What sort of lies? Here are a few: “Go ahead and watch that show it’s just a little bad and God won’t mind. You can quit any time you want. Feeling good is more important than that spiritual stuff!” The mortar that holds these bricks together is our own reliance on these behaviors for fulfillment. If we are Spirit-led the mortar holding these lies together should be deteriorating. However, if we still allow our Hearts to indulge in these behaviors we are, in fact, strengthening those bonds.

The way to pull these strongholds down is to stop seeking fulfillment from these behaviors. How do we do that? We must become not only Spirit-led, but also on constant guard against the use or construction of fleshly or worldly spiritual habits. How do we do that? None of us can do this in our own strength. What’s the solution? We have to understand it is God who demolishes our strongholds.

I am always astounded when I read or hear blasphemous statements about God. The people who do this will try to imply God is not all-powerful, or all-knowing, or perfect. They want God to be imperfect because a fallible God won’t hold them to His standards when judgment comes. They want to live totally apart from God now, but still retain eternal life in Heaven. They say, “God is Love! He won’t judge us.” Well, they may want that, but that has no basis in fact or scripture. We should fear God with a complete understanding He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do.

Some say God is not faithful as they point to some traumatic event in their past which, to them, “proves” He let them down. In fact they are upset because they feel God didn’t come through in a way that pleased them while they were going through some test or trial. As we have seen, God may very well allow His children to experience things which are unpleasant so spiritual growth will occur. For God the ends definitely justify the means.

God is faithful. He does what He says He is going to do. We fall far short of that don’t we? God does not. The next portion of the book of Joshua we will look at is Chapter 6 which is the conquering of the city of Jericho. If you are familiar with this passage then you know the method God set for the Israelite army to defeat this city was bizarre. Why? I believe God wanted to show everyone He was doing this for and through them. They were just being obedient. God prepared the way. God led the way. God provided the way. God rolled away the Israelite’s reproach. He has promised to fight the battles for them. He promised them He would and He is faithful so that is exactly what He did. In the process of doing this He revealed He is the one who demolishes our strongholds.

Until the coming of air power the proper way for an army to conquer a walled city was to employ siege warfare. What this entailed was bringing an army to the city which was large enough to be unbeatable by the forces within the city. If a small army attempted to lay siege to a walled city while a very large army was in it or nearby was not wise. It wouldn’t work for long because help would come and drive off the invaders. However, if the attacking army was large and powerful they would surround the city not allowing anyone in or out. If possible, they would attempt to cut off the city’s water supply. Over time food would run short within the city walls. The attacking army could simply stay put and wait for surrender. Of course, that would imply surrender was the goal.

What is the goal of the conquest of land of promise? It isn’t to subjugate the inhabitants of the land. The goal is to destroy all of the native people of the land and take possession of it. Their culture had to be rooted out and done away with. That meant surrender was out of the question. The two kingdoms Moses conquered on the East side of the Jordan were not subjugated. They were destroyed. The Canaanites knew this. They knew they were next on Joshua’s list. What was the result?

“Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.” (Joshua 6:1)

The people of Jericho knew they were in big trouble. Joshua also knows much about the condition of the people within the city. Where did he get his information? The two spies brought back detailed information about the city and the terror God and placed in the people’s Hearts. Remember Rahab and what she told those spies?

The city is theirs for the taking. The people are terrified and ready to be conquered. All that stands in the way are the walls. Jericho was built on top of a steep hill. This made it hard to attack those walls. Archers on the walls could easily pick off anyone attempting to approach. The city had an inner and outer wall. The outer wall was six feet thick. The inner wall was twelve feet thick. Timbers were laid across the gap between the walls so houses could be built on top. A direct attack on the walls would be very difficult and many could be killed in the attempt. A siege of several months was called for. This would starve them out. However, a siege wasn’t God’s plan.

“And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.” (Joshua 6:2-5)

What kind of attack plan is this? Militarily, it makes little or no sense. Perhaps terror on the inside of the walls could be increased this way, but God says do this and the wall will fall down flat. Those with little or no faith usually leave here. They can’t see how this would work so they say it is “another myth” from the Bible right along side of the Red Sea crossing. By-the-way, the ones who say things like this are not Spirit-led believers. I’m sure you already guessed that. The Spirit-led believe God. They know He is God and will do everything He says He is going to do. Nothing can limit Him and they do not try to.

Those who scoff at God and passages like Joshua 6 are either lost or are Soul-led believers who are deeply defiled by and conformed to the World. They are not possessors of the treasure. The doubt and skepticism that is manifest in them comes from the evil treasury of their Hearts. Their Hard-Hearts are full of unbelief. An evil Heart treasury produces an impure conscience. With an impure conscience a person doesn’t respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction very well. An impure conscience does not produce Joy. Joy is part of the Goodness that dwells in the treasury of the Tender-Hearted. The Hard-Hearted believer’s Heart has little, if any, Joy. The Joy of the Lord is our strength. (cf. Nehemiah 8:10) Therefore, the Soul-led are spiritually weak because they are full of pride and unbelief instead of God’s Joy. They respond with doubt and skepticism to revelations of God and His ways.

Those who read Joshua 6 and rejoice, however, are possessors of the treasure. They take God at His Word. They know their redeemer and He knows them. The treasury of their Hearts is full of God’s Goodness. Their Tender-Hearts are full of faith. God is never put in a box by these believers. What makes the difference? The main difference between the Soul-led and Spirit-led believer is focus. The Soul-led believer is self-focused and their main motivation is self-gratification through the flesh. The Spirit-led believer is God-focused and seeks His presence continually. Their main motive is God’s glory. By living like this they are fulfilled as they stick like glue to God’s will. A Heart treasury that is full of God’s goodness produces a pure conscience. A pure conscience causes the believer to respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction with a humble and contrite Heart. This is the very definition of the Tender-Heart God seeks. A clear, clean and pure conscience produces Joy. A Heart that is full of God’s Joy is a strong Heart as it is full of humility and faith. They respond with rejoicing and faith to revelations of God and His ways.

Never forget, the walk by faith, the Spirit-led walk, is chosen.

“Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?” (Galatians 5:18 MSG)

The Soul-led walk is the default walk we all grew up with. The Spirit-led walk is possible only for the believer since it requires the presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is not automatic. Just becoming a believer does not bring us to the walk by faith, however. To be led by the Spirit we must learn to seek the Lord with our whole Heart as we jettison all those worldly, fleshly things which conforms us to the World. (cf. Romans 12:2) We must learn to walk in Repentance with Joy. We choose this. We choose to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Everything we are discussing here is just that. Becoming Spirit-led is submitting to the Lordship of Christ. We can’t do it and be Soul-led. The Soul-led are not submitted while the Spirit-led are. Believers who are Spirit-led are living the life of a disciple of Christ. The Soul-led do this intermittently, if at all. How do we do this?

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me–watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30 MSG)

Ah, we have to get close to our savior and let Him show us and teach us how to do it. Notice also, the key is to get close and stay close to Him. This is a description of Abiding in Christ. Notice also, “religion” is not the key. This passage describes walking closely with our savior constantly.

What has all of this to do with the Israelites conquering and taking possession of the land of promise? We are using their God directed and empowered conquest of the Promised Land as a “type” or analogy of our becoming a possessor of the treasure. They were learning how to believe God and take possession of the land of promise. We must learn to believe God and let Him lead, guide and direct us into the Spirit-led walk which makes us possessors of the treasure. They had to choose to believe God. When they chose to believe and be obedient they were successful. When we choose the Spirit-led walk God is Faithful to draw near to us and change us from the inside out so we are constantly being grown and changed from being Soul-led into being Spirit-led.

Please carefully read the following passage. Take your time. Mediate on the truths there. Ask God to reveal His truths and make them real and evident in your Heart.

“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can’t possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it. And even when you do ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong–you want only what will give you pleasure. You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can’t be a friend of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful? He gives us more and more strength to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.”So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.” (James 4:1-10 NLT)

Yes, we choose to be Spirit-led, but we must start with humility. Then we resist the Devil. Then we draw close to God. What happens when we do these three things? God will draw near to us. I can’t stress how wonderful this promise is. It is awesome. God Himself drawing near unto us! What happens next? We must clean up. We purify ourselves. How do we do that? This is talking about repentance. We must choose that as well. We choose it, but God changes us so it takes effect. That is the part where He lifts us up and gives us honor.

Think of the high, massive walls of Jericho as the strongholds the enemy has built in our Hearts. He uses them to attempt to defeat us into retreat. He wants us to turn tail and retreat right back to Egypt. These strongholds appear to us to be impregnable. We have been defeated so many times by them we think we will never get the victory. However, as we have already seen, they are constructed of bricks made of lies held together by mortar that is nothing more than our own dependence on those behaviors within those walls for fulfillment.

In the last chapter, “God Fights Our Battles”, we saw where we actually have two enemies. One is Satan and his demons. The other is our “OLD MAN” sin nature. Sometimes they work together. Strongholds are like that. Satan will come after us with all his cunning and use one these strongholds to entice us into sin. When that happens our “OLD MAN” comes out of hiding. He is all for this. These strongholds are fleshly areas of temptation that have been built where we have believed the lie we will be fulfilled by giving in. Our “OLD MAN” thrives on this. He sees these strongholds as the “only” way to be fulfilled. Of course, none of them actually bring us fulfillment. It is the other way around. They only bring emptiness, bondage and defeat. To tear down these strongholds we must stop believing the lies which protect their very existence and quit depending on them for fulfillment. How do we do this?

The discouragement that comes from being defeated by these strongholds can be devastating. It can also bring desperation. If that happens we should turn and thank God with our whole Heart. Why? He put that desperation there so we will come hard after Him. He wants us to have victory over these strongholds. However, He knows we can never have this victory by using our will power as our weapon of choice. What are our weapons against these strongholds?

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

This passage was written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth. They had a great deal of dissention and rebellion in their body. Some were elevating themselves above others. Some were putting Paul down and making heretical claims. Of course, anyone doing these things had to be out of the will of God. They had given in to temptations and were serving fleshly desires. Paul told them plainly he would use weapons against all of this rebellion which would defeat them utterly.

How can this apply to tearing down the strongholds in our Hearts? Lies are lies. Who is the father of all lies? Satan is the father of all lies. When we give in to besetting sins, which come from strongholds in our Hearts, we are pursing self-gratification fully believing we will be fulfilled by doing so. Perhaps there will be pleasure involved, but the gratification from that is very shallow and short-lived. Satan has been using this lie ever since he drew Adam and Eve into sin in Genesis 3.

What weapons do we use on these lies? The first thing we must see is we have no hope of defeating strongholds with fleshly weapons. That would include our own wimpy will power to try to stop doing whatever it is. Other fleshly weapons are human ingenuity, worldly wisdom and clever methodologies.

Only God’s mighty weapons can defeat strongholds. What are they? In the chapter “God Fights Our Battles” we looked at the whole armor of God. Most of the weapons we use to stand and not fall are defensive. However, we do have two offensive weapons.

“^…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints–” (Ephesians 6:17-18 NASB)

We have the sword of the Spirit, God’s Word, the Bible and prayer. These two weapons are more powerful than any weapon our enemies have. How do we wield them? To defeat the strongholds in our own Hearts we must attack them with God’s truth. We must learn and apply the truths in the Bible. We must prayfully write them on our Hearts. The next step is to monitor what our Hearts are up to. We have to get into the habit of not giving our Hearts free reign. We must submit every thought to Christ and His Lordship. We must pay attention to what is taking place within our thoughts and desires. When we detect any movement toward ungodliness (by comparing it to God’s truth) we must turn to Him immediately, seek His face then pray for deliverance. Lay whatever desire is coming at us on the altar of self-denial as we worship Him.

What will happen to those strongholds when we do this? What are strongholds made of? They are made of bricks of lies. What holds these bricks together? Our reliance on the behaviors within these strongholds for fulfillment holds them together. So if we use the right weapons against the lies they will fall apart because our reliance on them will stop. They are demolished as we release God’s power against them by using the sword of the Spirit and prayer.

Every stronghold is built of lies. When we live the Spirit-led life the tearing down of strongholds is ongoing, but dramatic. The sins which used to defeat us completely are easily deflected and done away with via the sword of the Spirit and prayer. We must choose to wield these weapons. We must choose to seek deliverance from strongholds. We must choose to not fight the battle with our puny will power and self-discipline. We must choose to fight the lies not the enemy.

What defeats lies? God’s truth does that. If we are constantly pursuing purity and holiness in our lives instead of giving in to the fleshly pursuits our strongholds are built around we are well on our way to victory. God does the demolishing as we release His power against them with His mighty weapons. What’s the result? The truth of who we are in Christ will become very evident to us when these strongholds crumble and fall. We will know, deeply, He did the work in us. It was His mighty work that brought down these strongholds, not us. Our part is the wielding of the weapons by choice. His part is the demolition. The World is going to look at us as very different because we do not follow them in the vain pursuit of self-gratification anymore.

“See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! But the people who belong to this world don’t know God, so they don’t understand that we are his children. Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3 NLT)

Yes, we must forsake all fleshly pursuits if we are to become possessors of the treasure. The Soul-led are still ensnared in a losing battle against strongholds and two enemies who show no mercy. They attempt to fight it out with no help from God. They will lose battle after battle resulting in a constant walk of defeat back to Egypt. However, the Spirit-led do not fight this way. They put on the whole armor of God so they can withstand all of the attacks from their enemies. They fight the lies of the enemy with two devastating weapons which are unbeatable. Strongholds are being demolished by the Lord. Victory is coming.

The World will look at our weapons and laugh. They see foolishness where we see power and strength. We must not listen to them. We must simply follow our Lord and fight these battles His way. That’s what the Israelites did against Jericho. Remember, they were not interested in siege warfare. A siege meant a surrender of the enemy while the stronghold stayed in place. Our goal is the demolition and removal of all traces of these fleshly markers of sin. Jericho represents the strongholds in our Hearts. We do not make peace with them. We must seek their destruction and removal. That is what God’s plan is as well.

He told Joshua to have priests carry the Ark of the Covenant around the city, guarded by soldiers the whole way, once each day for six days saying nothing. Seven priests preceded the Ark. They each carried a ram’s horn which they would blow continuously as they walked around the city. Then on the seventh day they were to walk around the city seven times. At the end of the seventh circuit there would be a long blast of the trumpets. Then the people were to shout as loud as they could. God promised the walls would fall down flat at that moment. Then they were to rush straight into the city from all directions. They were to show no mercy to anyone found in the city except to Rahab and her family.

No military man would come up with a plan like that. However, this battle is the Lord’s. The battle against our strongholds is His as well. What is our part? The marching around the city each day for six days with the Ark of the Covenant speaks of exposing the strongholds to God’s holiness and presence. This should reveal to us the process of rooting these evil things out our Hearts takes time and persistence. We must spend time in the Word. We must learn God’s truths deeply. We must write them on our Hearts. This takes time. The more time we spend in God’s presence the more we expose our Hearts to His Word, His purity, His holiness and His will. This weakens the structure of the stronghold which is under attack. Why? Remember the bricks made of lies are held together by our devotion to the behaviors wrapped up in the stronghold. If we are fasting from those behaviors as we feast on God the strongholds are being weakened.

What about the seventh day? What happens on the seventh day? The column was to march around the city seven times then attack with a loud shout of victory. This is the actual demolition of the stronghold as God’s truths finish their mighty work of bringing down its walls. The lies become disconnected from each other and the Heart. The mortar holding them together is completely gone. Without our devotion to their use these strongholds are just a pile of lies. God’s mighty weapon of truth has done its work. Oh yes, when those strongholds coming tumbling down flat we should shout for victory! Give God all the glory!

“Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.” And he said to the people, “Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the LORD.” So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, “Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” So he had the ark of the LORD circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days. But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city! Now the city shall be doomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.” So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.” (Joshua 6:6-21)

Amen! That gives me chills every time I read it. God gave them this very bizarre plan and right when He said the wall would come down it did. Look closely at the passage where Joshua instructs the people to not take anything from the city. It was accursed. That means nothing from that city was for their use. The valuables were to go into the treasury of the Lord and everything else was to be destroyed. Our attitude for the behaviors wrapped up in the strongholds in our Hearts has to be dealt with just as ruthlessly as this. Show no mercy! We must fall out of love with them and seek their destruction. If we hang on to them with any affection we have won nothing. That means we will eventually fall back into that sinful behavior. We must forsake them completely. We must replace all affection for these things with full devotion to the Lord. Yes, that is the fasting and feasting principle we looked at earlier.

We have won the victory! God has demolished the stronghold that was pulling us into defeat. What must we do now? Well we must heed the warning to have no mercy for this formally beloved behavior. It was a tool our enemies used to defeat us. We must forsake it. Part of that is to do all we can to resist the temptations to rebuild.

“Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.” (Joshua 6:26)

Yes, we must do ALL we can to make sure the demolished strongholds never get constructed again. How do we do that? We have already looked at that. We must forsake those behaviors which enabled this ugly sin marker to be constructed in the first place. That means we must become cleansed. We must fast from those behaviors which feed them. That is self-denial. We must replace those with feasting on God, His truths, His will and His presence. That is the only way to make sure we retain the victory.

Possessors of the treasure are those who obediently seek the purity and holiness that comes from the Spirit-led and stronghold free life. This comes only to those who know how to fight in this war. We must learn to use the weapons God has issued to us. We must fight the right enemy. We must not use our own puny weapons. We must stand and not fall away by using the whole armor of God. We must use the sword of the Spirit and prayer to expose the lies of the enemy. We must let God show us the strongholds in our Hearts and do whatever He tells us to do so He can demolish them.

Battles may be won, but the War isn’t Over

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you. Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to his eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. After you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. (1 Peter 5:6-10 NLT Emphasis Mine)

I hate that guilty feeling I get after I stumble into sin. When that happens I know it right away. My conscience is very healthy. The Holy Spirit will convict and my conscience will condemn. It is not pleasant. This is a very good thing. My part, of course, is to not stay in my sin, but to stop whatever I’m doing, humbly confess it to God then asks Him to cleanse me as I repent.

“If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins–make a clean breast of them–he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God–make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.” (1 John 1:8-10 MSG)

When God purges and cleanses us of all wrongdoing after we confess He also does something else. As we turn to repent from whatever we were doing He will grant us repentance.

“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:24-26)

So, when I sin, but then respond in true repentance in response to the conviction from Holy Spirit and condemnation from my conscience, God will change my Heart so I can truly repent. That means I become more spiritually mature. God will actually reshape my Heart so that my desire to commit that sin will be diminished. Over time if I treat all of my failures this way the changes in my Heart will be dramatic. The treasury of Goodness in my Heart grows.

If this is how we deal with sin then we are actually attacking and conquering our enemy within. We have looked closely at that battle in the last two chapters. We must be utterly ruthless in this war against our fleshly desires. If we are to walk before our Lord as humble yet victorious Spirit-led believers then this is required; it is not optional.

When we left our study of Joshua in the last chapter the Israelites had obediently followed God’s plan and conquered the city of Jericho. We looked at it as a “type” of our spiritual warfare against strongholds both within and without. The attack on these strongholds entails exposing our enemy’s lies to the truth of God’s Word as we draw near to God and stay in His presence. This means an increased amount of time in the Word, in prayer, in worship and just being in the Lord’s presence. This causes the strongholds to become weak because our reliance and devotion to the behaviors within each is removed by fasting from them as we feast on God. The strongholds are demolished as we utilize the Word of God and prayer to release His power against them.

The Israelites have won their first victory in their conquest of the Land of Promise. We have won a victory over a stronghold that has kept us in bondage forever. It’s time to celebrate! It’s time to praise and worship our Lord. It’s also time to ratchet up our devotion to the Lord’s presence and our diligence in monitoring what our Heart is up to. However, we are so immersed in victory we lose focus. We think we have made a huge step up the spiritual ladder. We assume, because the battle has been won, the war is over. That is a big and costly mistake.

We should know better, but we assume we have reached a level of spiritual maturity where those old sin problems are past tense. We may have relaxed, but I assure you our two enemies have not given up. Remember them? Satan and his demons is enemy number one and our “OLD MAN” sin nature is enemy number two. They may have suffered a defeat, but they have not given up.

The city of Jericho is a burned out hulk of its former self. The walls are laying down flat. Nothing is left. All of the people who were in the city have been killed except for Rahab and her family. All the livestock has been killed. All valuables have been put into God’s treasury. Everything else is burned up. Well, not everything.

“But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel.” (Joshua 7:1)

What happened? Someone named Achan had disobeyed the command to view all things found in Jericho as accursed. What was the result? Achan sinned and that sin was accounted to all Israel. This kindled God’s burning anger against them. What’s going on here? Why would God account offense against everyone for one man’s sin? That’s just not fair! Well, this isn’t about fair. This is about a violation against God’s holiness and righteousness by the body of people whom He had just declared as holy and separate as He rolled their Reproach away. That act of rolling away their former reproach was an act of sanctification. This act cleansed them and made them holy unto the Lord. They had entered into a binding and holy covenant with the Living God and they had violated their part.

What is a covenant? It is an agreement usually between two parties. This agreement was binding on both parties for agreed upon conditions. The agreement would remain in effect as long as the conditions were being met. If either party violated those conditions the covenant would be void. Abraham entered into a covenant with God who made many promises to him and his descendants. That is called the Abrahamic Covenant. (cf. Genesis 17)

What is the parallel for us in our study? A true believer is one who has entered into a covenant agreement with the God by submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ who shed His blood to pay the price for their sins. That makes true Christianity a blood covenant. What does that mean?

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:16-17)

How does God do this? Well, this is speaking of salvation and we already know it is the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His death which enables sinful people to be saved.

“For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.”Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:16-22)

All who have been converted to true Christianity, believers, must understand they have entered into a blood covenant with God and have become citizens of the Kingdom of God. Jesus shed His blood and died to bring His part of the covenant or testament into effect. What is our part?

“Whatever we do, it is because Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NLT)

We must die to self. We must live to please our Lord and savior not ourselves. When we accepted Jesus as Lord and savior we gave up all of our rights to live for ourselves. Why? We are now citizens of the Kingdom of God and our allegiance is to our Lord. I am pretty sure most believers do not know or understand this. If they did shouldn’t they live differently? I contend, if someone claims to be a believer, but will not submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ by living a life of repentance then he or she is not authentic.

In our parallel study we have just looked at the victory over Jericho followed closely by Achan sinning which caused a violation of a covenant which aroused God’s anger. Let’s say I have just diligently worked with God using the weapons He issued to me and one of my biggest and ugliest strongholds has been demolished. I am no longer in bondage to the behaviors that were within that stronghold. It is a joyous day! However, I relax. I get my focus off of pleasing my Lord and on the victory itself. I believe, because the battle is won, the war must be over.

However, this war will never be over until I leave this physical existence far behind. As long as the Lord leaves me here I must face my enemies continuously. No one is exempt. That isn’t very encouraging is it? Sometimes it can seem we have signed on to the wrong side. That might be true except we know where our treasure is. Our treasure sure isn’t made up of the stuff in this life. If we are living for our Lord our Hearts treasury will be full of God’s Goodness. That treasury of Goodness helps us have the right focus and perspective as we get into and stay in the trenches.

The problem is I have just won a victory and I have taken my eyes and focus off of my Lord and onto some sort of self-gratification. In many cases it can be those very behaviors that were within the stronghold that God demolished. That is what Achan did and he thought no one else knew about it. We have already seen, though, God knew all about it and His anger burned against all of the Israelites. Joshua, not knowing anything about Achan’s sin, prepared for the next city to conquer.

“Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the city of Ai, east of Bethel, near Beth-aven. When they returned, they told Joshua, “It’s a small town, and it won’t take more than two or three thousand of us to destroy it. There’s no need for all of us to go there.” (Joshua 7:2-3)

We do the same thing ourselves. We are walking with God. We have Him do a wonderful work in our Hearts. We get very “happy” in our new circumstances instead of choosing joy in the Lord. When we do that we let our guard down and become vulnerable. We may even partake of some sinful pleasures, but only the ones no one else sees. An attractive person of the opposite sex we are not married to may be looked upon with lust. Or we may envy someone else who is driving a car we really like. We may see an old rival and relish the fact they have become overweight or is really showing their age. We partake of those inner thoughts that we think no one else knows about. We justify our actions by rationalizing we haven’t really done anything wrong. We have only “thought” about doing those things. No one was hurt. No one even knows we did it. Well, that’s a lie. We know, our “OLD MAN” sin nature knows, our conscience knows and, most importantly, God knows. We know we did it and so does God. Then we try to serve the Lord and go to the next conquest. That victory was fun. Let’s do it again! What’s going to happen?

Before we go into the consequences of this failure (sin) let’s look at what really is going on in our Hearts when we do this. We must understand, our enemy never sleeps and is very persistent.

“Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping.” (1 Peter 1:8 MSG)

The Devil, Satan, is just looking for an opening in our armor so he can strike at our Hearts. If we aren’t wearing our armor or are not using it correctly then we are sitting ducks. He is part of the problem, but really we are our own worst enemy. Our “OLD MAN” sin nature should be denied, but when we relax he always comes out of hiding and demands to be fed. Also, our own Hearts are depraved and wicked.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

Our desperately wicked Heart is full of sinful desires because it learned at early age to go after self-gratification for fulfillment. All sin comes from that and is based on one or more of the following: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes or the pride of life.

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:13-15)

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

At salvation we were changed drastically, but that wicked Heart still has to be changed and reclaimed. That takes the power of God and will take the rest of our lives. In the mean time, however, we must walk in repentance so our Hearts will not have free reign. This is walking in the Spirit.

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16)

Isn’t that a great promise? Why don’t we do it then? It is because we don’t automatically know how to do it. This is learned. If we do know how to do it that doesn’t mean we always do it. The problem is when we are walking in the Spirit we do not sin, but when we stop we do. So, if we do anything that involves the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes or the pride of life then we have allowed temptation be born from own sinful desires and we have been drawn away into sin by it. If any of that is happening in our Hearts then we have left walking in the Spirit and have begun walking according to the flesh. That is a sin as well.

So why do we go from victory to failure like we do? We stop walking in the Spirit. How does that happen? We get our eyes off of Christ and on someone or something else for fulfillment. This is the crux of all of our failures. If we pursue the presence of God continuously and remain fulfilled by His Glory we will not sin because we are walking in the Spirit. However, if we turn back to anything or anyone else for fulfillment then we are walking according to the flesh and we sin.

What is the result of that sin? We lose fellowship with God until we repent. This not a fun place to be. However, if we harden our Hearts enough we can slip into that spot very easily. I hate it when I do that. The following passage is a very good read. Take your time, pause and mediate on the “good word” there.

“Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it. You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way. You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.” So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.” (James 4:1-10 MSG Emphasis Mine)

This passage is a wonderful word picture of how we fall into sin and what that does to our relationship with God. We must not remain in sin. We must repent then get back to walking in the Spirit. Believers lose fellowship with God when they sin. However, God is wonderfully gracious and merciful to those who love Him. He has given us the avenue of repentance which we must choose. Once we are there and obediently stop sinning and walk forward with Him He grants us repentance. This causes the actual changes and reshaping in our Hearts which mature us unto Christ-likeness.

The sin of Achan after the victory at Jericho is a “type” of our fall into sin after God brings victory into our Hearts. We lose fellowship with God when we do it. When he sinned it was tragic.

“So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water. Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.” (Joshua 7:4-6)

What was the result? Defeat in battle with thirty-six killed because they were fearful and could not stand. Doesn’t that sound familiar? When we wear the whole armor of God don’t we stand no matter how severe the attack? This defeat as a “type” for us in our spiritual warfare should tell us the reason we fall away sometimes. When we sin we have set aside the armor haven’t we? Without the armor we flee before the enemy. We can not stand. Sin causes us to put aside the armor and brings defeat. The first sin is in setting aside the armor. Then without the armor we fall into more sin. We are defeated. Didn’t we just have a major victory? We must understand one victory does not win the war. We must also see how important it is we learn to walk in the Spirit. Why? Walking in the Spirit is walking fully armored. We don’t sin while walking in the Spirit. We don’t retreat or fall away while armored correctly. They are two ways of looking at the same thing.

The Israelites went into battle without their godly armor on. Why? God had not gone into the battle with them. Without His presence they were fearful and ran before the enemy. We are the same way. If we try to stand and not fall away without being armored we will not last long. How do we become armored with the full armor of God? We walk in the Spirit!

Okay, we have slipped. We have stumbled. We have won a victory then got our focus off of the Lord and are no longer walking in the Spirit. Our armor is somewhere else. Here comes the enemy and our “OLD MAN” sin nature. Temptation comes, we fall for it. Wham! All of sudden there we are right in the middle of a sin that we thought was no longer a problem area for us. Ugh!

What do we do next? The fact we realized the problem is a very good thing. That means we haven’t hardened our Heart to the point we don’t experience conviction from the Holy Spirit and condemnation from our conscience. We know we messed up, but what now? We must go through the example of repentance we looked at earlier from James 4.

What did Joshua do when the Israelites were defeated?

“Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord GOD, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all–to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?” (Joshua 7:6-9)

Joshua does some good things here along with a great deal of self-pity. This is both a good and bad model for us when we realize we have fallen into defeat. The first thing he does is humble himself before God. This is how we should come to our Lord when we realize we have fallen into sin. Oh yes! This is right and the best way for our Hearts to understand the truth of our intolerance for this sort of behavior. When we come into God’s presence this way all of our sinful desires are pushed away. We are in the right place. Nothing sinful can come into His presence. Humility on our part is the only way to get to the throne of grace.

“But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:6-8)

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-17)

What should we do and not do at this point? It says in those two passages God is very interested in extending His grace, mercy and help to us. Yes, we should humble ourselves before the Lord, beg His forgiveness and plead for Him to grant us repentance. Will he do that or demand we perform some sort of “works” first? Unfortunately, many believe and are taught that very thing. This is all about God’s grace and our submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is not about works. We have to get back to the place where our armor is, put it on and walk forward with the Lord as we are yoked up with Him. How do I know this? Look at God’s response to all of Joshua’s self-pity.

“So the LORD said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. Get up, sanctify the people, and say, “Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.” (Joshua 7:10-13)

Oh how I hate it when my Lord tells me something like this. I know it immediately when I have taken that step too far. I know it when I have to return, turn and repent because I am out of His fellowship. Tears and deep anguish come then I assure you. It isn’t self pity. That is a waste of time. It is tears of regret because my self-focus has violated the blood covenant I have with my Lord and has caused Him to turn away from me. Then I pray something like this, “Oh, Lord please forgive me! Take my sin and cast it away and change me, grant me repentance as I humbly remain in your presence!”

What did God tell Joshua? The first thing that must happen is for the people to sanctify themselves. Why? What does that mean? We have looked at this many times. This is the essence of James 4:6-8. They have to go through spiritual cleansing. This is how it’s done. God never changes. To get their side of the covenant reestablished they had to start in the same place we do. We have to draw near to God as He draws near to us. Then we must do whatever He tells us to do. In their case the next thing that must take place is the removal of the accursed things. In our case we must forsake the sin we have fallen into. There is no repentance until we do that. Then what?

“In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man. Then it shall be that he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel.”‘ (Joshua 7:14-15)

This is pretty drastic isn’t it? However, we must do the same thing to the devotion and love we have for the behaviors that have dropped us into sin and violation of the blood covenant. How do we do this? We must take on a new attitude.

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is yourreal life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don’t be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry. God’s terrible anger will come upon those who do such things. You used to do them when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds. In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.” (Colossians 3:1-11 NLT Emphasis Mine)

Notice two very important parts of this passage. We died when Christ died and we are to put to death the sinful earthly things lurking within us. I know of only one way to do this. I must forsake my love and devotion for those evil behaviors and then pray for God to grant me repentance. Then I must walk in the Spirit. The power to stand and not fall away comes from the “Real Power” that is available only to those who are Spirit-led. We must ruthlessly put to death our love and devotion to these things and that is accomplished by true repentance. True repentance is granted by God through the cleansing power of His truth. We have already seen where the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. We must saturate our entire being with God’s presence, the Word of God and prayer. We must take on this new attitude and understand the battles may be won, but the war is never over.

The act of “putting to death” those evil things in our Hearts will set us apart from the norm. This World is desperately wicked. Why? It is full of people who live apart from God and, no matter how religious they are, they seek to be fulfilled by those very things we are to put to death. When we put them to death we quit serving them and we will be “different.” We are “different” because we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. We must live that way no matter how “different” we will appear to others. However, we must put to death the fear of that as well. Why? That is just pride and it is that self-serving evil part of us which is the root of Idolatry of the Heart. All sin is based around serving this Idol to self. No matter how “strange” or “different” this makes us we must still ruthlessly do it.

“So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. Then he brought his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.” So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day.” (Joshua 7:16-26)

I admit it; there is a part of me that pities Achan and his family. However, we can’t do that with the sin in our lives. We must put it to death. We must put to death the root of it so it will die so we won’t serve it anymore. We must have no mercy on anything or anyone who causes us to violate the blood covenant. The best way to deal with sin is to not do it to begin with. That means we must put on the whole armor of God and stand. We must stand and not fall away. We must wield the sword of the Spirit and pray deeply and fervently to release the Lord’s power against the powers of evil who are trying to defeat us. We must have no mercy. We must forsake it all as we walk in the Spirit with our Lord. We must become Spirit-led so we will keep our part of the blood covenant. We must be vigilant in the guarding of our Heart. Unless we remain alert we will make the mistake of assuming the war is over because we have won a few battles. When that happens we will drop our guard, quit walking in the Spirit, and then fall right into some sin our “OLD MAN” sin nature wants.

The possessors of the treasure must learn the reality of the blood covenant and being a citizen of the Kingdom of God. They must learn it and apply it completely to their Hearts. They must see themselves as dead to everything and everyone except our Lord the King. His will takes precedence over all. Our will must become totally submitted to His. This is not fun and games. This is the most serious and important thing we can and will do.

Oh Lord, I thank you for being patient and merciful with us. We desperately need your presence. Yes Lord we understand we have entered into a blood covenant with you. Jesus’ death on the cross brought this wonderful covenant into being. Those who are truly saved have entered this covenant with You Lord by dying as well. Oh Lord please forgive us for taking our part for granted. Make it a reality in our Hearts that we will die to self, take up our cross and follow You in total submission to Your Lordship. Grant us that repentance Lord. Those who do this Lord are the only ones who are yours. Oh Lord, I pray for all those who believe they are saved, but have never done this. Please shed your light of truth into their Hearts. Reveal to them their peril as the Day of Judgment approaches. Only those who have died to self as they submitted to Your Lordship have eternal life in you Lord. Oh Lord, use us as beacons of light to point others to Your truth. You are the light Lord, we reflect your light. I pray all of us who are truly yours will diligently remain pure and holy in your presence. All for Your Glory Lord—Amen!

Renewing the Covenant

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to sinners, and they will return to you. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. Unseal my lips, O Lord, that I may praise you. You would not be pleased with sacrifices, or I would bring them. If I brought you a burnt offering, you would not accept it. The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:10-17 NLT)

Sometimes I will take a look back at my Spiritual maturity level a month ago or several months ago or a year ago or nearly 20 years ago. It is amazing to me how long I was stagnant in my spiritual growth. Everything changed for me at the end of 2003 and the beginning of 2004 God started drawing me closer and closer to Him. I had reached the end of myself. I was desperate for the closeness and vital spiritual walk I had had the first few years after I became a believer.

I had not grown much at all for over the last twelve years. Oh I learned a lot about the Bible. I learned a lot about religion. But I was not walking closely with the Lord. I was not praying much unless I needed to prepare to teach. Operating in church mode was an automatic for me. I served at church. I taught classes. I did whatever was asked of me. However, I did everything within my own abilities and effort. I was trying to be spiritual with absolutely no help from God. In other words I was completely Soul-led.

My being Soul-led was very obvious to me. However, I didn’t know anything about the difference between being Soul-led and being Spirit-led. I just knew I was extremely wrapped up in fleshly things and seemed to have little self-control at times. I became desperate, but I didn’t know what to do about it. I just knew my life couldn’t be pleasing to my Lord, but I had no idea how to change so it would.

When I was asked to start a new class at our Church for young couples I agreed, but I knew I was totally incapable of doing it. This drove me to my knees. I started having a daily quiet time with the Lord again. It had been many years since I had done that. I started going through a God ordained cleansing as well. That was no fun I assure you. In the early Spring of 2004 I started praying that I would become the disciple He wanted me to be. I had also been praying for several weeks God would open my spiritual ears so I could hear Him. Then I started praying God would make me usable and that I would mature unto Christ-likeness. In May of 2004 I was nominated to be a Deacon at our Church. I had learned enough over the last few months to know that was no coincidence. I asked for maturity and was given more responsibility.

Over the rest of the summer of 2004 I started drawing closer and closer to the Lord. I was constantly shedding conformity to the World. I gave up my devotion to TV and secular music. I replaced those with listening to uplifting contemporary Christian music and Bible studies and prayer. Then toward the end of August of 2004 I woke up one day and realized I had been totally changed. My entire value system had been restructured. I no longer had any desire for fleshly or worldly things. My love for God was so intense I would weep and weep as I worshipped Him or read scripture. I was not perfect and I knew it, but I also knew God had done a wonderful work in my Heart.

A few weeks later I learned to walk in the Spirit using a technique called walking in Repentance with Joy. This was my next big spiritual step up. I look at that day as the day God took me to the next spiritual level. Now I look back at how far I had come in those nine months of 2004 and I know it was God’s good work in me that had done that. When I look back now at how far I have come since that day I am amazed even more. Strongholds have been discovered and demolished by God’s mighty weapons. I have learned to stand and not fall or retreat because I am wearing the whole armor of God. I have learned the difference between genuine humility and false humility as God has changed me from a powerless, self-deprecating prideful believer who never risked anything to a powerful, truly humble believer who steps out on faith. Walking the walk by Faith has become a reality for me.

What has all this to do with Renewing the Covenant? I look at those two wonderful periods of my life when I submitted entirely to the Lordship of Jesus Christ which changed me completely and the day I learned how to walk in the Spirit as Covenant Renewal days. Over the next several months God demolished strongholds and taught me how to stand, fully armored, under withering fire from the enemy. With each victory I would have Covenant Renewal.

There is another time we must renew the Covenant. Before we get into that let’s review. What is the Covenant? In the Bible there are several. However, for the believer the most important one is the blood Covenant that provides a way for us to be saved by Grace.

The blood Covenant is what brought into effect our ability to have eternal life through Grace by Faith as we submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and accept Him as savior. This makes us a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Christ died to bring this Covenant into force. That was His part. How do we do our part?

We must die to self to do our part in this blood Covenant. What does that mean? It means we quit living for self and start living for God and His Glory. How do we do that? We start by becoming His disciples.

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.” (Matthew 16:24-27)

Taking up our cross is dying to self. Along with that we must deny self. After we do those two things we must follow Him. This is a serious call. We can’t take it lightly. If we want eternal life we must take on this costly grace. Some would argue salvation by grace is free and we don’t have to do anything but believe to be saved. I can’t find that anywhere in scripture. I find many statements that we must call on Jesus to be saved by Grace but in all of those He is called Lord. That means He is Lord and we must submit to Him as Lord in order to be saved. If we have done this then we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. We must live our lives within that context. That means He is Lord of our lives and our King. We no longer have “rights.” We have something much better. We have our citizenship in the Kingdom and that is treasure beyond all comprehension.

Jesus paid with His life to empower this blood Covenant. We must pay with ours to bring into effect our part. This isn’t salvation by works though repentance from sin is called for. That’s what submitting to His Lordship, denying self and taking up our crosses means. When we entered into this Covenant we agreed to do that. That means we must spend the rest of our lives living for God and not self. I firmly believe this is the narrow way which few find. Only those who have Kingdom citizenship are genuine.

^“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

I pray this does not discourage anyone, however, after a great deal of Bible study, prayer and listening to God I firmly believe most church people either aren’t authentic or they are spiritually very immature. Why? Are they living for God or are they completely wrapped up in self-gratification? Sometimes the only thing differentiating a lost person and a Soul-led believer is church attendance. True salvation will result in the believer being changed by the presence of the Holy Spirit within them. He will be hard at work changing the believer from the inside out. There should be evidences of these changes—the fruits of repentance—in their Hearts.

If we have partaken of the blood Covenant we are new creations. We are changed. As we mature we learn to walk in repentance. That means when we sin we should, as soon as possible, turn to God and ask Him to forgive us as we repent of that sin. With each cycle of this process we should also seek to renew the Covenant with our Lord. Why? It is a very healthy thing to do.

If we constantly have to confess and repent of the same sins we have a problem don’t we? What is it? There is some sort of bondage to that sin problem going on. It is probably a stronghold situation. The believer who is ensnared like this tries and tries to stop committing this sin, but they can’t. Why? They are trying to fight the battle with their own weapons instead of God’s. However, if they would seek Covenant Renewal after confession they would definitely shorten the agony. Why? Covenant Renewal is often called Revival. Revival is a renewal, rededication and cleansing time for the Body of Christ. We need it.

Revival cleanses the Body of Christ not the lost. We must admit the church in the United States is desperate for Revival. I see it everywhere. That desperation reminds me of my own desperation just prior to my personal renewal. God put it there. I pray He is putting that desperation in the Hearts of all who truly know Him. Who is the catalyst of Revival? It isn’t us. It’s God. He must be the one who draws us into desperation. When we are desperate for Him then what? He will draw us into cleansing and walking closer to Him. Can God do in the Body of Christ what He did in my Heart? Absolutely! Why doesn’t He?

I believe He has already placed the desperation within us. However, we must respond to it by humbling ourselves and going hard after Him. The cleansing may take some time. However, at some point, renewal will happen. The very process of drawing near unto God exposes those strongholds and sinful desires to the light and truth of the Word. When that happens holiness is on the way. We must stay the course and obey whatever the Lord tells us to do.

On a church wide basis what do we do? Pray for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on the church as it seeks holiness and separation from the World. Pray for the Body of Christ to become content only in Him. Pray for focus on God rather than self. Pray for purity and seek it. Pray for understanding of the reality of the Kingdom of God. Pray for the Body of Christ to have its spiritual ears opened so it can hear God speak. He is speaking; we just aren’t listening most of the time.

Personal renewal may be God’s plan rather than a huge outpouring of His Spirit. Actually, it is probably better anyway. Many of the so-called “Revivals” I have seen are based on “emotional Zeal” rather than true repentance. God knows what He is doing and He is sovereign. His will is right and perfect. I can’t have a renewal for anyone else. I can only continue in mine. So, we must pray for each other to be renewed as well. Pray for Hard-Heartedness to be broken up and softened in those believers all around us. Pray for the knowledge of God and His ways to become known within the Hearts of those believers. Seek your own renewal first. Then tell the truth to everyone who will listen as God changes you into the Spirit-led believer He wants you to be.

In our study of Joshua we left off as Achan and his family was stoned to death because he stole goods from Jericho which were under a holy ban. This was a violation of the covenant God had established with them. His sin had caused God to not be with the Israelites the first time they attacked the city of Ai. This caused them to run away in fear with thirty-six dead. God revealed who had done it. Achan received no pity. The sin was purged from Israel. We looked at this as a “type” of how we should handle our own sinful desires. We must put them to death.

That sorry story is past. Cleansing has taken place. The price for breaking the covenant has been paid. In our own lives the sin has been confessed. We have turned away from it and returned to God for fulfillment and away from self-gratification. Fellowship with God has been renewed. We have renewed our side of the blood Covenant. Each time we sin or catch or Hearts moving away from God for fulfillment from anything or anyone else we must turn it back to God. This is the one thing we do by our will power that pleases God. We must say no to self and turn away from what our Hearts want and turn it back to God and His Glory. When we do this we are Renewing our side of the Blood Covenant.

In the first 29 verses of the eighth chapter of Joshua we read about the conquest of Ai after the Achan drama. God is now with them. Ai is demolished. In our parallel study what is Ai? Is it another stronghold? Yes it is. What happens to it? It is demolished as Joshua and the Israelites obey God to the letter. God is very gracious. He could have split and left them there to be victims and prey for the Amorites. But, He did help them defeat Ai after they removed the sin from their presence. Does God do this with us? Absolutely! None of us deserve grace. He will forgive and empower us after we repent and turn back to Him.

After Ai is demolished Joshua takes the Israelites to Mount Ebal to renew the covenant with God. Do they need it? Sure they do. This act of renewal was commanded by God to Moses. He passed that command on to Joshua before he died.

“Now Joshua built an altar to the LORD God of Israel in Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.” (Joshua 8:30-32)

Is there a parallel for us in this passage? Yes there is. What do we do when we seek to renew our side of the Blood Covenant? We deny self, die to self and turn to God. The turning to God is worship and prayer. We can’t do either of those unless we deny self and die to self. Aren’t those also two of the requirements of becoming a true disciple of Christ? Yes! Also, what does Joshua do after the sacrifices? He writes the law on the stones of the altar. What is our altar? It is in our Hearts. If we are in Christ isn’t God’s law already written on our Hearts? When do we sacrifice to our Lord? When we praise and worship Him we are giving Him the sacrifice of praise. When we obey the Lord we are denying self and dying to self by offering ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord. (cf. Romans 12:1) We do all that when we turn our Hearts away from what it wants and turn it to God instead. So our renewal of the Blood Covenant happens when we walk in Repentance with Joy.

“Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them.” (Joshua 8:33-35)

This ceremony was a reading of the blessings and curses portion of the law to all of the people. What is the parallel for us here? When we renew our part of the Blood Covenant we are actually rebinding ourselves to the conditions of it. That is what the Israelites were doing here with their renewal. Not only that, just like them, we must know the commands of our Lord in order to do right and avoid doing what is wrong. When we renew we should seek the Lord deeply. That means prayer and getting into the Word of God. Why? The Word of God is Truth. It cleanses and purifies because if reveals what is hidden in our Hearts. Yes, we must do this when we renew the Covenant.

What is the point? Why do we have to do this? The renewal of the Covenant we do each time we come into the Lord’s presence will mature us each time. That is, if we also seek the Truth, cleansing and purity. When we do this the Lord adds more Goodness into the treasury of our Hearts. We are laying up more treasure in Heaven. Who are the only ones who please God? The Spirit-led are those who diligently seek Him and also walk in the Spirit. They are the only ones who please God and become Possessors of the Treasure.

Oh Lord, I pray You will have mercy on your sheep. We live our lives with all our focus on our own wants and desires. We have become enslaved to the lies of the enemy who has told us we must do all for self. We have believed it is costly to be truly humble. Please forgive us Lord. Take our sin and cast it away from us Lord. Please continue to draw us into repentance by making us desperate for You. Oh Lord we need direction and Your wisdom so we will learn how to walk in the Spirit so we can renew the covenant. We know we can not please you with anything religious. Please teach us how to walk in the light in complete obedience and submission to You Lord. Give us the understanding and knowledge of the blood covenant you have established with us. We recognize we must live completely dead to self as we live to do Your Will all for Your Glory. Amen!

Genuine Humility vs. Self-Confidence

“Tonight all of you will desert me,” Jesus told them. “For the Scriptures say, `God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.” Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will.” “Peter,” Jesus replied, “the truth is, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” No!” Peter insisted. “Not even if I have to die with you! I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the same. (Matthew 26:31-35 NLT)

Meanwhile, as Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, a servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.” But Peter denied it in front of everyone. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” he said. Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said. A little later some other bystanders came over to him and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.” Peter said, “I swear by God, I don’t know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went away, crying bitterly. (Matthew 26:69-75 NLT)

I am one of those people who, it seems, has to learn everything the hard way. I think Peter was like that as well. Don’t be too hard on him though. Peter’s denial he will deny Christ, and meaning it, sounds very much like some of my vows from my Soul-led days. Peter told Jesus maybe those other Apostles would fall away, but not Him. In fact he would die rather than deny Him. What was he basing this on? What power source was he relying on? Obviously, he was like most of us. We determine in our Hearts we will or will not do something, but end up doing the opposite. This can be very discouraging.

The Apostle Paul understood this problem very well. He also knew why we have this problem and what the cure was. Carefully read the following passage from Paul’s remarkable epistle to the Romans. Take your time. Absorb and meditate on what is written. You may want to read this passage from your own Bible if you would prefer another translation. I chose The Message for this passage because I love its clarity and depth.

“I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself–after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.” (Romans 7:14-25 MSG)

I can relate. I remember those days very well. I would make up my mind to quit stumbling into the same sin all the time, but it was only a matter of time that I would find myself right in the middle of it. When Peter told Jesus he would never deny Him he was depending on the same ability I used to rely on and what Paul was addressing in Romans 7. It is self-confidence in our own will-power to not sin and fall away that we naturally depend on. Well, it doesn’t work.

Confidence in our own abilities to please God is not well directed. Let’s do a review of our past. Failure after failure is on our spiritual resume’. Not very encouraging is it? We must get past this concept we can will and determine our way into sinless perfection. It isn’t going to happen. Why? Where is our Will? It is part of the Soul. The Soul is made up of our Mind, Will and Emotions. It is not spiritual at all. It has no ability to contact or commune with God. That is our Human Spirit’s function.

Prior to salvation we are a mess. Our Souls are completely in control. That means we have no contact with God at all. The only part of our Spirit which is functional is our conscience. It blames and condemns us because we aren’t experiencing fulfillment from God’s Glory (this is what its main function is along with a mechanism to enable us to know right from wrong). However, the lost person’s Spirit is not able to contact God as designed because it was damaged when man fell into sin in the Garden of Eden. (cf. Genesis 3). All descendants of Adam inherited this mess.

At salvation everything changes. Our Spirit is washed and cleansed by the Blood of Jesus as the Holy Spirit baptizes us into Christ. This makes it holy so He can reside there. He begins the work of sanctification at once to reclaim the Soul. With the Holy Spirit residing within our Spirits we have God’s presence with us all the time. We now have the ability to contact and commune with Him. The goal of sanctification is to mature us spiritually unto Christ-likeness. This means we must change a great deal. Our Spirits must become predominate over our Souls. This is how we become Spirit-led.

What this means is we must get past the notion we have some ability within our Souls to be holy and spiritual. It isn’t going to happen. No matter how hard we try to do it with our own ability we will fail eventually. What’s the solution? We must become Spirit-led. When that happens we walk in the Spirit. This gives us the ability to say no to sin and yes to God. It also means we take on Jesus’ very nature. That means genuine humility becomes manifest in our being.

If we have genuine humility we do not try to use will power to please God. We know better. Instead we use our will power to seek God’s face and presence. Then we do whatever He reveals for us to do by His grace and power. We do good works when we walk this way. We can’t do any works which please God if do them by will power. If Peter had been Spirit-led that conversation with Jesus would have been very different. The Spirit-led have no confidence in the flesh.

“The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ’s praise as we do it. We couldn’t carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it–” (Philippians 3:3 MSG)

The Spirit-led know better than to try to work at being spiritual in the flesh (being Soul-led) because it only leads to empty works. We must be obedient to the Lord by relying on the His power not ours. This is the essence of genuine humility.

What about decision making? Should we try to use our own understanding, common sense and worldly wisdom to determine how to serve God and do the work? This should be obvious, but in fact we mess up in this area a great deal. Joshua and the other leaders of the Israelites did this and it had repercussions that lasted centuries.

They had conquered Jericho and Ai, but they had to know it was God who really brought those victories. Just as we must understand it is God who really demolishes our strongholds as we release His power against them by the sword of the Spirit and prayer. They also just had a wonderful renewal of the covenant. However, there is a problem.

This reminds me of how I was right after I learned to walk in the Spirit. I would have victory after victory. I would have wonderful praise and worship and would teach with power. Then, I would leave church or wherever I was and walk right into a fleshly response that would bring me right back to earth. It took a while for me to learn what was causing it. The problem was I would be relishing the victories instead of remaining diligent. I made the mistake of assuming the war was over because I had won a few victories. I had started to walk in self-confidence instead of genuine humility. This means when circumstances and relationships called for godly decisions on my part I would rely on built in self-confidence to do it. Not a good idea. It caused me to become very discouraged when that would lead to me stumbling into sin.

The problem Joshua and his leaders had was the very same problem I had. They started believing they could simply use their own judgment instead of relying on God and His wisdom. This is self-confidence in action.

“And it came to pass when all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the coasts of the Great Sea toward Lebanon–the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite–heard about it, that they gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one accord. But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.” Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make a covenant with you?” But they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?” So they said to him: “From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt, and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan–to Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. Therefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, “Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; now therefore, make a covenant with us.”‘ This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy. And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.” Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the LORD. So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.” (Joshua 9:1-15 Emphasis Mine)

Trust me, the way the Gibeonites used deceit to establish a covenant, and thereby not be destroyed, with Joshua is exactly how our enemies and the world comes at us. What did Joshua do wrong? He did not ask counsel of the Lord before he made this decision. Isn’t that how we operate most of the time though? Sure it is. We walk through our days and make all our own decisions about reactions to circumstances and other people then wonder why we get discouraged and defeated when we stumble into sin.

When we walk this way we have very large and quick swings up with Joy followed by large and quick swings down with discouragement. If we could map it on a chart it would look like a sine wave with large vertical ranges (joy vs. discouragement) yet very small horizontal movement (time). The time is short because we are walking in repentance with Joy so we turn and repent very quickly. However, the swings up and down can be very trying. Wouldn’t it be better to smooth this out? Sure it would, but how can we do it?

We must stop using self-confidence and become truly humble. When we do that we will remain diligent. We will not relax and assume the war is over. We will walk in the Spirit wearing the full armor of God. When we do that will we sin? Nope! Will we relax and become an easy target? Nope! What will we be like? We will be the warriors God desires for us to be. We will be armed and ready to go. How can we do this? What about what I want to do? Can’t I decide how to live my own life? I think we already answered those questions in the last couple of chapters didn’t we? If we are in Christ we are partakers of the blood covenant and have become citizens of the Kingdom of God. No, we do not have the right to make those decisions anymore. We must live for our King’s glory not ours.

This salvation is accomplished by entering into a blood covenant with the Lord. Jesus died to set this covenant up and our part is to die to self. When we do that and become His disciples we give up all rights to ourselves. We become His to do with as He wills. And the best part, for me, is I am fulfilled to the max as my love for God becomes huge. Joy and Peace abound in my Heart. It also means I am walking through this life truly humble with no confidence in my own abilities. All of my hope and confidence is in the Lord and His power.

I believe genuine humility wins this one hands down. Self-confidence is of the Soul. The Soul-led operate with it, but the Spirit-led do not. The Soul-led try to be spiritual in their own abilities. The Spirit-led are spiritual because their Spirits are predominant over their Souls. This means they are controlled, led, guided and directed by the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit-led ever step out of this walk by losing focus then control reverts immediately back to the Soul. This is trouble. It happens very quickly too. What causes it? That losing of focus causes it, but what causes the losing of focus?

Distractions which cause this refocus from God to self are always attacks from one or more of our enemies. Most of time it is our own “OLD MAN” sin nature who is the culprit. Sometimes the Lord Himself will allow the distractions to come so He can test our level of humility. If we aren’t as humble as we should be these tests will cause us to stumble won’t they? However, if we are truly humble we will remain focused on God and remain in our walk by faith. This is another reason to remain diligent in shedding all aspects of self-confidence. If we start operating in self-confidence at any level we are setting ourselves up for a fall. That fall will come pretty quick too.

How do we do this? How can we stay focused this way? We aren’t machines we’re people. We must do all we can to fast from those things which distract (entertainment for example) and feast on things which focus us towards God. For example, we must cut out of our lives everything that builds up pride, as we fill up on things that draw us into genuine humility. What does that? We must replace devotion to being entertained with devotion for God. That means the TV must be tamed and controlled or turned off. Movies must be regulated and not watched if they contain anything that would make us lose focus. We must not participate in any activities that Jesus would not. We must participate in those activities Jesus would. This isn’t as hard to determine as we think. We know God’s standards from His law, don’t we? We know the teachings of Jesus, don’t we? If we don’t we must dig these things out of the Word. We must dedicate ourselves to pursing the truth.

I know I know many of you are very upset with that last paragraph. Well, it is the truth. Don’t we want to be in that group that enters Heaven with a big celebration and welcome from our Lord? If we do want this then we must become truly humble. We must shed self-confidence. If we resisted and became angry when we read the last paragraph we have shown what really controls us. If we are self-focused the fasting from distractions as we feast on God method angers us. We want to be fulfilled our way. We need our distractions to seek fulfillment. This is the number one sign we are Soul-led. However, if we rejoice in our fasting and feasting we are truly humble and are Spirit-led. We are walking in the Spirit fully armored. We are ready to be sent to the front lines by the Lord. Why? We have become usable for His glory. The proud and the self-confident will never get there until they repent.

I understand many who read this chapter will drop out of the treasure hunt. That is a shame because it means they will be saying no to the Lord as He beacons them to come and follow Him. We must not do that. The call to be all God wants us to be is costly. However, that cost is only to our pride. Our pride is worthless. We must do all we can to walk in genuine humility not false humility which is just pride masquerading as humility.

The truly humble servant of the Lord is confident in Him not self. This servant does do things that others look upon as risky, but are really steps of faith. The believer walking in false humility will look and sound humble as they perform self-deprecation on their own character to appear humble. However, that is just pride being self-protective. No risks are taken. Which of these two believers is really walking the walk that pleases the Lord?

God is ready to forgive those who humbly seek Him. He will cleanse the penitent believer who comes and seeks the granting of repentance from the Lord. However, there may be consequences and repercussions to our walking in self-confidence rather than genuine humility. Whatever that would entail would depend on many factors, however, we can look at the mess Joshua and the tribal leaders got themselves in by not seeking God’s counsel.

“And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. Then the children of Israel journeyed and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim. But the children of Israel did not attack them, because the rulers of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation complained against the rulers. Then all the rulers said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them. This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.” And the rulers said to them, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, as the rulers had promised them.” Then Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, “We are very far from you,’ when you dwell near us? Now therefore, you are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves–woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” So they answered Joshua and said, “Because your servants were clearly told that the LORD your God commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore we were very much afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. And now, here we are, in your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to us.” So he did to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they did not kill them. And that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, in the place which He would choose, even to this day.” (Joshua 9:16-27)

The covenant agreement between the Israelites and the Gibeonites kept these Hivites alive. They became slaves to the Israelites, but they got to keep their cities. What was the reaction of the people? They complained against their leaders. Well, they should have. Isn’t it strange these Hivites seemed to have more faith in God and His power than the Israelites? Their deceit saved their lives, but they became slaves. What about the repercussions? When the kings of the cities in Canaan heard about the Gibeonites peace treaty with Israel they came to make war against them.

“Now it came to pass when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it–as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king–and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying, “Come up to me and help me, that we may attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.” Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they and all their armies, and camped before Gibeon and made war against it. And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Do not forsake your servants; come up to us quickly, save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered together against us.” (Joshua 10:1-6)

The Gibeonites are attacked by the other kings because they are seen as allies with the Israelites. What do they do? They come crawling to Joshua for help. Because of the covenant agreement he has to come to their aid. Not only do the Israelites have a large group of foreigners in their land now they have to protect them.

When we compromise our walk with God by not seeking His counsel in all things we end up in these situations where we have to step out and do things we shouldn’t have to do. But, we have to because the compromise has introduced responsibilities into our lives which were not God’s original will for us to take on. However, the Spirit-led believer takes the high road. There will be no backing away from responsibilities because that would be sin. If we had sought God’s will to begin with and heeded the wisdom He would have given us we would not be in this mess, but we didn’t do that. Our self-confidence has nailed us again. We can’t back away though. We must stay in our Spirit-led walk where genuine humility marks our walk. Wouldn’t it be better to not step into this sort of mess to begin with?

Be of good cheer, God still loves us. We sinned when we left our Spirit-led walk to seek happiness in our circumstances rather than joy in the Lord. However, God forgave us when we turned back to Him. We have been cleansed of that sin. We now have some new responsibilities that were not part of God’s original plan, but He will still work things out for His glory.

“So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.” Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal. So the LORD routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes to Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, that the LORD cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword. Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the LORD heeded the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel. Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.” (Joshua 10:7-14)

God took an imperfect situation that came out of a lack of discernment by Joshua and the tribal leaders and produced a great victory. Do not be surprised when God does this in our lives. He is a great, wonderful and gracious God who loves us. When we drop the ball like Joshua and Peter does God hold that against us forever? They both went on to do great work for God. We are no different. Yes, we must seek forgiveness and cleansing, but we must get back into His will. When we get back into the Spirit-led walk we must become even more diligent. We have learned a hard lesson. We must keep our Hearts focused on the Lord forsaking everything seeking to draw us into mediocrity.

What about the treasure? The one who walks in genuine humility pleases God very much. Treasure in Heaven is being built up and the treasury of their Hearts is burgeoning with genuine humility and God’s Goodness while they are treasuring the treasure of Kingdom citizenship.

Oh Lord, we don’t want to fall away from You. Our Heart’s desire is to be in the center of your will living for your Glory. Please Lord, develop in us that clean Heart that seeks you above all. Please feed us from your table as we stay in Your presence. We desperately need your wisdom and discernment so we can make the right decisions. Speak to us Lord. Change our Hearts so they are eager to hear your Word, learn it and do it. We have no power or goodness in ourselves Lord. We recognize that. We are only good and only do good when you are in control of our Hearts. Lord we lay our Hearts down before you. We offer ourselves as living sacrifices to You Lord. Transform us into the disciples who greatly please your Heart Lord. Oh Lord we need your Grace. Not goods Lord, but Goodness. Use us according to your perfect will. All for Your Glory Lord—Amen!

Love for God vs. Love for the World

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world. (1 John 2:15-16)

In the last chapter we looked at Genuine Humility and how that Heart quality being manifest in our lives will result in an obedient and diligent walk while self-confidence, with its roots in pride, will result in a self-centered and worldly walk. Humility is one of those things that we can’t manifest by trying. We can’t try hard nor will ourselves to be humble. If we try that we will generate false humility which is simply pride masquerading as humility. Not good! If we can’t try to be humble then what’s the solution?

We become humble by the presence of something else operating in our Hearts. Genuine Humility becomes manifest in our Hearts when the Love for God in our Hearts becomes our entire focus. When we love God with all our Hearts, with all our Soul and all our strength we are putting Him first in all things. That puts us last because we will deem everyone else as greater than ourselves..

What is the alternative? Actually the alternative is, unfortunately, the default way we walk through this life. That means we operate in this life not loving God above all. Instead we love all those things around us that we think brings us fulfillment as we focus our entire being on doing whatever it takes to feed our insatiable appetite for self-gratification. Who is being loved in this walk? Self is the one being worshipped and loved. The actions of person living this way prove they love the world and all those things in it that bring them pleasure. Does any of this really fulfill? Nope! The things of this World can bring only shallow, temporary fulfillment. However, we don’t know any better do we? Even after salvation we continue to do this. Why? We do not know there is a better way.

The better way is to become Spirit-led. By now we should have pretty clear picture of how to do that. However, let’s take a closer look. What we are going to look at is covered in-depth in Walking the Walk by Faith. Here is a concise summary. The first step is a healthy Fear of God (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:13). This fear of God drives us to come to Jesus (cf. Matthew 22:28). Jesus is calling us all to come to Him so we can become Spirit-led. When we come to Him He commands us to Take on the Yoke of Christ (cf. Matthew 22:29). This is our submission to His Lordship. Our obedience in doing this teams us up with Jesus Himself. We will Learn from Him (cf. Matthew 22:29) as He gives us rest from empty religion. After we learn the truth from Jesus we will turn and present our bodies as living sacrifices by the mercies of God (cf. Romans 12:1). This is dying to self. As a result of dying to self and living for Him we Keep the Lord’s commandments (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:13). This obedience puts us into situations where our faith is built up. This renews our minds and transforms us unto Christ-likeness (cf. Romans 12:2). We have matured some. We can now Discern God’s Will which we submit to (cf. Romans 12:2).

Each of these is a step in a process. When we make it through this process it starts over. This process continues until we go home to Heaven. However, not all believers do this. Why? Their love for self out-weighs their love for God. Sorry, but that is why. The catalyst and driving force behind this whole process is our love for God. If we love Him correctly we will enter the Spirit-led walk process and never leave it. The only thing that will draw us out of it is an expression of self-love manifested as self-focus. If we struggle in this area our love for God isn’t as strong as it needs to be. If it is vital and growing in our Hearts then genuine humility will become manifest as well. They do go together.

Let’s take a close look at the verses I placed at the beginning of this chapter. Here it is again.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

Remember most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew. The words we will look at will be from that ancient language. The first word is “Hear”. The Jews call this passage the “Shema” because that is the Hebrew word for “Hear”. In the context of this passage it means “to heed, or listen and obey”. So when Moses wrote these verses he was telling the reader to listen to what is being said and obey it without question. Isn’t that the essence of the Heart God is looking for? Remember Rahab from Joshua 2? Her heart pleased God because of that desire to hear and obey seamlessly. Our Hearts must take on this characteristic as well. When God speaks we need to listen then obey. What is our motivation? God is God and there is only one God. What? God is one God, but the word used in this passage that is translated as “one” actually means “unity”. So the Lord our God is one God, but He is a triune God. That means He is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We must accept this on faith. Trying to describe this is beyond our finite mind’s ability to grasp. Besides, it is a joyful and peaceful place to be when we realize how infinite and indescribable God is. Who wants a God who is low enough our finite minds could grasp Him? We should look at this verse, ponder it and accept it in Joy. God the Father loves us, God the Son died for us and the Holy Spirit sustains us and teaches us. We have a pretty good deal!

With that motivation what should we do? We must love the Lord with all our Heart, with all our Soul and with all our strength. That sounds like above all and all the time to me. The word translated as “love” in this passage implies an ardent and vehement inclination of the mind and a tenderness of affection at the same time. This love is intense and burning, yet completely non-demanding. We are to love God for whom He is and this love is above the love we have for everything and everyone else. The statement we are to express this love for God with all our Heart and Soul is saying there will no part of our being that in not actively loving Him. This is both focus and expression. The Heart is the Soul and the conscience. The conscience is heavily involved in our walk by faith. It is in contact with God continuously if we are His. By saying our Heart and Soul are to Love God completely Moses was saying all of our decisions and actions should be subject to our devotion and love for Him. We must direct our Hearts to Him and keep it there. When we do that we are walking in the Spirit. When we do that we are communing with God by praying continuously. Isn’t this how we should express our total devotion to the Lord?

What about all our strength. This is talking about using our will power to keep our Heart focused on the Lord and not allowing it to stray back to love for the World and self for fulfillment. This is diligence. This is describing how Enoch lived.

Who else diligently seeks the Lord except the Spirit-led? No one does. What is the catalyst and impetus of the Spirit-led walk? Love for God. What is the catalyst and impetus of the Soul-led walk? Love of the world and love for self. Which pleases the Lord?

What happens to our character when we love God this way? We become genuinely humble. We see the veracity and importance of living this Christian walk in the light of and submission to the blood covenant with our Lord Jesus Christ. We understand sin drives a wedge between us and God and cuts us off from fellowship with Him. We see that as a violation of the covenant. It breaks our Heart when we see it this way. We then do all we can to renew the covenant with our Lord as we repent. We are so in love with God we want to spend all of ourselves on being in His presence. We love to love God. The process that takes us into and maintains this Spirit-led walk by faith is continuous and growing in depth.

What happens to our character when we love the world and are mired in being Soul-led? We try to be humble by being religious. This produces only disingenuousness in us. False humility is just pride in disguise. We think religion is the key not that blood covenant stuff. We are sure we are okay because we go to church and serve. We try real hard to be good and not sin by following the rules. Sin is not seen as a big deal. Yes we should ask for forgiveness and try to repent, but it’s hard, you know? We hope God isn’t angry with us, but we are in control and will not relinquish it to Him. We become desperate for real godliness, but have no idea how to get there.

Can we just decide to be Spirit-led and quit being Soul-led? Not really. We must have a starting point where we decide to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ then do it. How can we do that? What do we need to do first? Get on our knees, ask God for a broken Heart. Ask Him to give us ears to hear Him and the desire to obey Him. Draw near unto Him and do what He says. What will God do if we start like this? Doesn’t He want us to diligently seek Him so He can reward us? Hebrews 1:5-6 says that. He will change our Hearts from the inside out as He draws us closer and closer to Him. He will light the spark of intense love for Him in our Hearts as He shows us the enormity of His love for us and who we really are in Christ. What happens next? Cleansing of the Heart will begin in earnest. Our willingness to be clean, pure and holy before our Lord will become intense. We will walk through the process of becoming Spirit-led over and over again as we draw closer and closer to Him. It never stops. There will be a point somewhere through this process where we wake up and see we have a brand new value system. His desires have become our desires. We see the world and what it has to offer as paltry emptiness compared to the treasure we have growing in the treasury of our Hearts. We treasure it and guard it. No going back for us!

Genuine humility can not be manufactured or faked. It grows from the seeds of our love for God. The two go hand in hand. If we have these two attributes growing in the treasury of our Hearts we are Spirit-led.

Oh Lord God almighty, I love You Lord with my entire being. You are the Living God. I praise You for Your perfect love You have for us. I praise You for Your infinite patience. I praise You for Your Grace Lord. Thank You for loving us Lord. Thank You for being patient with us. Thank You for extending Your Grace to us so we can be saved. Thank You for giving us Your wisdom when we ask for it. Lord please take the reader and examine their Heart. Show them where they are spiritually. Take them through this process of becoming Spirit-led. Light the spark of perfect love for You in their Heart. Change them from the inside out into the Christ-like believer you want them to be. All for Your Glory Lord—Amen!

Repentance from sin vs. Willful Disobedience

I know I distressed you greatly with my letter. Although I felt awful at the time, I don’t feel at all bad now that I see how it turned out. The letter upset you, but only for a while. Now I’m glad–not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him. The result was all gain, no loss. Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets. (2 Corinthians 7:8-10 MSG)

Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. (Exodus 20:18-21)

Have you ever seen those people in large cities wearing a sandwich sign or carrying a placard on a stick with the message, “Repent for the end is near!”? I wonder if anyone really pays any attention to them. What does “repent” mean? One dictionary definition is, “change ways: to feel regret about a sin or past actions and change your ways or habits.” While that definition has the right idea about changing our ways and habits it is of no help in telling us how to do it. The definition actually implies the feeling of regret is the catalyst that brings the change of ways. Is that how it works? If we are honest with ourselves we would have to admit we have attempted to repent of sin by doing this very thing many times. How’s that working for you?

I say stop it! This method of repenting is the world’s way of repenting. It implies the guilt feelings themselves are what God is after. After we have felt bad long enough then God will give the green light for us to feel better again then we can get back to being ourselves again. This process is supposed to convince us we should stop doing that sin. No wonder the world scoffs at the church. They see a body of believers who are self-righteously demanding they stop their sinful activities by feeling guilty. Then come to church and everything will be okay. Then they will take a close look at those church people and see they are struggling with their own set of sins. They see Christianity as a disingenuous group of people who just want to condemn and judge them. No wonder they have no use for church.

God wants us all to repent. He wants us to come to the knowledge we are sinners who do not deserve salvation. He wants that understanding to come with full force into our being. When that happens we should be full of regret and distress. (cf. 2 Corinthians 7:8-10) We should sorrow because our sin has offended God and the distress from that should instill within us a drive to turn from our old ways and change. God wants us to become humble Spirit-led believers who are full of Peace and Joy not a bunch of broken-down, dejected, morose, sad and useless hulks who see themselves as worms.

When a believer sins their conscience will pour condemnation into the Soul as the Holy Spirit sends in conviction of sin. This is not pleasant. If the believer is Spirit-led he or she will react in sorrow and regret because they have done something hurtful to the one they love the most. Sin is hurtful to God. Believers are precious in His sight. He loves us beyond our comprehension. When we sin we have actually turned away from Him and sought fulfillment from the flesh. This turning is the real sin. The Spirit-led believer will move as fast as possible to get back to the close intimate relationship they had before the sin by confessing it to the Lord then turning their Heart back to Him. This will bring them back into fellowship with Him. This is Repentance with Joy. This is how the Spirit-led actually maintain their walk in the Spirit because they are constantly refocusing their Heart towards God as they stay in fellowship with Him.

How do the Soul-led react to the condemnation from their conscience and conviction from the Holy Spirit? They will be distressed as well. However, their distress and anguish will be either because they have got caught or they have “failed again.” A Soul-led believer’s Heart is Hard, but they do know what sin is. They understand it is wrong. They may not really realize what that sin is doing to their relationship with God, but they do know it violates His standards. They have sorrow and possibly many tears. They attempt to show God how bad they feel about their constant failures. They will try to do this for awhile until they believe they have done it long enough to please God. Then they will go right back to their Soul-led life. The Soul-led may have been a believer long enough to know about confession of sin and what 1 John 1:9 says about God forgiving us when we confess our sins to Him. They will use this verse a lot to try to feel better, but no real change in behavior happens for very long. Why? They are walking by will power alone.

What will be the result of walking in Repentance with Joy? The believers who do this will be in a constant state of cleansing. God will be putting them in circumstances which will reveal areas of their Hearts which need work. These circumstances will be designed by God to bring to the surface areas that are not totally surrendered to the Lordship of Christ. The Spirit-led believer will react by seeking God’s wisdom then doing what He says. Repentance from sin is a huge part of Godly Character and the treasury of Goodness in the Heart of the Spirit-led.

What about the Soul-led? The second passage I placed at the beginning of this chapter is from the book of Exodus. Moses and the Israelites were at Mount Horeb. God’s presence was on the mountain and the people were terrified. Here it is again.

“Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.” (Exodus 20:18-21)

The people told Moses to be their intermediary with God. Why were they terrified of God’s presence, but Moses wasn’t? Moses had a close intimate relationship with God. He communed with Him constantly. He feared God, but He loved Him as well. The people feared God, but with a fear that is fleshly. What was Moses advantage?

“(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)” (Numbers 12:3)

Moses was humble. How is this an advantage when it comes to have a close intimate relationship with God? Moses was genuinely humble. He knew where he stood with God. He knew who he was in the Kingdom of God. He feared God the way the genuinely humble do. This meant He knew his role was to live for God’s glory not his.

The people didn’t really want to hear what God had to say. Their fear of God was the same type of fear they would have had if a lion entered camp. They just wanted the danger or threat or whatever was causing their discomfort to go away. Leave me alone and let me live my life my way! On the outside their response to God and Moses appears to be humility because they reacted by drawing away from His presence, but, in fact, it was pride. Fleshly fear is pride driven.

The catalyst that will result in repentance from sin is genuine humility before God. The genuinely humble are godly. They hear God. They fear God. This will result in an inner drive to stay pure and holy before the Lord.

The opposite of walking in repentance is walking in willful disobedience. Many think they are repenting by simply feeling sorrowful, but they really aren’t because there is no change. Genuine repentance means the sin will stop. Those who repent with sorrow instead of repenting with joy are not truly repenting. They are still refusing to listen to God and out of their pride they stay involved in all their sinful activity. This is willful disobedience.

Repentance from sin is a priceless portion of the godly treasure in the Heart of the Spirit-led believer. Why? What happens with a believer’s relationship with their conscience when they are walking in Repentance with Joy? Their conscience is clear. They are walking closely with God so they are being fulfilled by His glory. The conscience pours fulfillment into the Heart when we walk this way. There is no condemnation going on about sin either. It is a wonderfully fulfilling place to be. Interaction with others reveals a Christ-like attitude.

Willful disobedience also contributes to the treasury of the Heart. What does it add? It adds guilt. It adds bitterness and anger. It enhances pride. When this believer interacts with others these things are revealed sooner or later by what they say and what they do.

Devotion to God’s Glory vs. Devotion to Self-gratification

Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes–these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is really an idolater who worships the things of this world. Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the terrible anger of God comes upon all those who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But when the light shines on them, it becomes clear how evil these things are. And where your light shines, it will expose their evil deeds. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you. Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord in your hearts. And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:3-20 NLT)

The word devotion speaks of a fervent love for someone or something. This fervent love produces a dedication within us to the object of that love that is as strong or as weak as the level of that love. If we love with our entire being that dedication will be maximized. If we love with a divided Heart we have marginal dedication. Marginal dedication to something leads to neglect of it.

We have already looked closely at how important it is we love the Lord with our entire being. Why is that important? That love grows and grows and produces genuine humility. This love changes our Hearts so we seek to live for God’s glory not ours. Look at the passage I placed at the beginning of this chapter. It is a wonderful word picture that contrasts the result of our devotion to God’s glory or our devotion to self-gratification.

What are some of the things the one devoted to self-gratification become involved in?

Sexual immorality
Impurity
Greed
Obscene stories
Foolish talk
Coarse jokes
Thoughtlessness
Drunkenness

That’s not a pretty list is it? Well those are just a few of the behaviors our “OLD MAN” sin nature loves. We could add negative emotions such as bitterness or resentment along with pride based behaviors such as self-protection, jealousy, envy, etc. This could be a very long list. The point is this; if we are not devoted to the Glory of God in every part of our lives then we have this list waiting on us. We can not live our lives in neutral. We will live for God’s glory or we will descend into a vain pursuit of fulfillment via self-gratification.

I don’t watch much TV anymore. I can’t stand the giant chunk it takes out of my time. Besides the values it presses into our Souls are all geared towards self-gratification. For the Spirit-led believer the experience of participating in entertainment based activities can be quite agonizing. Why? It’s all based around dissipation. What’s that?

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles–when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.” (1 Peter 4:1-4)

Dissipation means overindulgence. When a person lives a life which is geared around that desperate search for fulfillment through self-gratification they must do it over and over again. It is a constant escalation of seeking fulfillment. Whatever activity they are in now does not satisfy like it did last time. Overindulgence comes on like a wild ravenous wolf devouring them. They run hard after it desperate for gratification and they can’t find it no matter how hard they do it.

Now think of the garbage that is pushed into your mind every time you watch TV or filthy movies. We must say no. We must see all of that stuff as distractions from our devotion to God’s glory.

Look at the last phrase in 1 Peter 4:1-4. I have experienced this a great deal. When I became Spirit-led I lost closeness with several people I work with. They just didn’t get it that someone could live their life totally separate and free from going after self-gratification. One of them challenged me one day when he heard I didn’t drink. It really baffled me that would be a big deal. He asked me if I smoked. I said no. He asked me if I did drugs. I said no. He then said, “You must run around on your wife then.” I asked, “Why would you say that?” He said, “Everyone has to have at least one vice.” I replied, “No we don’t! I refuse!” He really didn’t believe me… then. Why? The flesh-bound mind set does not understand that the genuine believer has been changed by God’s great and good work in his or her Heart. Since we have been delivered from this worthless lifestyle shouldn’t we live differently?

“What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it–we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to. But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him–and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own.” (1 John 3:1-3 MSG)

This passage tells us we must be all about living our lives devoted to God’s glory. What will our lives look like when we live this way? We will be like Jesus. In other words our character will become Christ-like. Read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John from your Bible looking closely at how Jesus lived. You will see Jesus did all for the Father’s glory. He is our model. We must forsake the ways of the world. We must take on becoming Christ-like. How do we do that? We must become Spirit-led. Living a life devoted to the Glory of God gives the treasury of our Hearts the correct focus. All of that wonderful Goodness in the Spirit-led Heart is treasure indeed because it establishes Christ’s very character in us.

Continual Prayer vs. Self-focus

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Then Jesus brought them to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go on ahead to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he began to be filled with anguish and deep distress. ³⁸He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.” He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.” Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you stay awake and watch with me even one hour? Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak!” Again he left them and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away until I drink it, your will be done.” He returned to them again and found them sleeping, for they just couldn’t keep their eyes open. So he went back to pray a third time, saying the same things again. Then he came to the disciples and said, “Still sleeping? Still resting?Look, the time has come. I, the Son of Man, am betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let’s be going. See, my betrayer is here!” (Matthew 26:36-46 NLT)

I have always admired those preachers and godly people who can pray those long eloquent prayers. I am pretty hopeless at it. My prayers are usually short, succinct and to the point. I really don’t believe that’s a big problem though. Why? I know my Lord. He knows me. We commune and converse throughout the day, every day. He knows my Heart. Even though I admire those long eloquent public prayers I know deep in my Heart the praying I do when I am in a quiet private place as I pour out my Heart to Him, listen, ask questions, listen, etc. is vital. What did Jesus say about it?

“And now about prayer. When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:5-6 NLT)

So, if you are like me, and many others I know, who pray best privately and intimately then let it go. Don’t worry one bit about how you sound when praying publicly. I do it when it’s called for, but I sure don’t live for it.

Ina and I have a small group that meets in our house on Sunday evenings. We always finish up with prayer time. We have prayer requests then we pray around the room. That is a precious time for me. I love it. I am with my close and intimate brothers and sisters in Christ who love the Lord just like I do. We all want to live our lives to please the Lord. When we pray together it is special. The public praying I do then is for the Lord’s ears. However, we are all praying silently as we take turns praying aloud. I have found I pray my own requests to God as they pray about something that strikes my Heart. Now this type of public praying I love and live for.

There is another type of praying I practice. I believe it is probably my most productive praying. This is praying throughout the day as I am led. Sometimes I worship a lot. Sometimes I listen a lot. Other times I ask a lot of questions. Most of the time I thank Him a lot then listen. This is the essence of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. When I was Soul-led I would read this passage and about choke. I could not see how anyone could do this. I would read about fasting and praying and be dumbfounded. I would read about what Heaven is going to be like with us spending our entire time worshiping, praising and serving the Lord and feel like I wasn’t going to enjoy that very much. Why? I was Soul-led so I was self-focused.

Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t I didn’t deeply desire to be like that I just had no clue how to get there. I tried different devotionals. Some had really fancy prayer techniques. I tried using prayer acrostics. I tried many things. Nothing changed. Public praying was a terrifying nightmare. I could pray before and after my class just fine; the rest of the time no way! What was the difference? The only time I was really Spirit-led back then was when I was teaching as I relied completely on His power to do it. I should have picked up on this, but I had not learned the Joy of walking in the Spirit yet.

Walking in the Spirit is how we maintain our communion with God as we “walk” through our day. We focus our Hearts on the Lord and attempt to maintain it. I pray continually when I do this. I can be driving to or from work and be in a running conversation with Him about getting through the frustrations of driving in rush hour traffic with out losing it. In fact, I have found this type of focus is required for stronghold demolition. As I am in situations that hit all my hot buttons I must take it to the Lord in prayer constantly or I will succumb. Once the stronghold has come down I must still be diligent to make sure it doesn’t get rebuilt.

Self-focus is walking for self-gratification. It is not walking and living for God’s glory. It is a violation of the covenant we are in if we are citizens of the Kingdom of God.

What makes continual prayer part of our treasury of the Heart? We can not function as Spirit-led believers without it. The Soul-led can’t do it, but the Spirit-led can. The Spirit-led do it and it is also what keeps then focused on God. What happens to a believer who is prayerless? They aren’t communicating with God so how could they have His wisdom and cleansing going on in his or her Heart?

Praying continually is that part of the treasury of Goodness in our Hearts that takes the focus our Devotion to God’s Glory produces and directs it to Him. It also opens our Hearts to hear Him. Prayer is two-way communication. We have to learn to hear Him so we can grow and walk obediently before Him.

Do you every ask God direct questions? If not, why not? I never used to ask very many because I didn’t like the silence after I asked. Since I have learned to walk in the Spirit and the Lord has answered my prayers about opening my spiritual ears so I could hear Him I ask a lot of direct questions. Ask with faith, believing and watch out. The answers come quick but with an overwhelming understanding. The key is to ask with faith.

“If you need wisdom–if you want to know what God wants you to do–ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can’t make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do.” (James 1:5-8 NLT)

If we ask God a direct question with the full intent to know and do His will He will give us the answer. When I was planning Walking the Walk by Faith I needed to learn a great deal about some very deep spiritual matters that were not addressed in great detail in the Bible. They are alluded to, but the detail isn’t there. I had read many commentaries and other people’s opinions about some of it, but I wanted to know the truth. I put together some detailed questions and meant to ask God to show me where to look for the answers. I planned on doing it that evening. At lunch that day I left work and took off walking on a trail that is nearby. I started worshipping and praying. Before I knew what was happening I was conversing with Him. I asked some of those questions and the answers were coming fast and furious. He wasn’t telling me where to go look any of this stuff up. He was telling me the truth. He was giving me His wisdom. The best part for me was I knew it was Him. I had learned to hear His voice. It was one of the most humbling yet joyful experiences I have ever had.

That evening I researched some more and could find nothing to contradict what He had told me. I prayed more about it. More detail came. Once again there were no conflicts with scripture. What a deal! What does His voice sound like? I didn’t hear anything audible. I had an overwhelming understanding of His truth in my Heart. I can’t describe it any other way except to say there was no doubt in my Heart it was from Him. I tested what I was given and it all checked out. Now when I hear that still, small voice I stop and pay attention. It isn’t anything like what comes from the conscience either. With the conscience it is more like a feeling. When I sin I feel like something horrible is going to happen. When I am in the center of God’s will I feel wonderful. When God speaks to me it isn’t like that at all. It is more like I have just been given deep knowledge and understanding than anything else.

Our enemy does not want us to be able to do this. He will lie to us to try to convince us we can not pray this way. Praying believers are powerful believers. Prayerless believers are powerless believers. We must pray continually and let the Holy Spirit guide us into the wonderful depths of His wisdom. Ask away, believe He will speak and go after it. Not believing God will speak this way will cut that ability off from your Heart. Don’t do that.

Some of my believer friends have wondered how I can pray this way. They want that ability as well. I am not God. I don’t set up what is possible for anyone but me. However, I can tell you this with no doubt in my Heart. If you will seek the Lord, come hard after Him and not back away He will come hard after you. He will draw close and you will know He is there. When there ask Him questions. See what happens. We have to learn to hear Him, but it is awesome when we know we have just acquired wisdom directly from Him.

Is praying continually treasure? It is priceless treasure. The lost can’t do it. It can’t be faked. The Soul-led can’t do it either. They can learn to do it though as they become Spirit-led. God directed me to write this book then months later he showed me a scripture in Luke to tell me why. It was Gabriel declaring to the father of John the Baptist what he was going to be like and what he would do.

“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:15-17 Emphasis Mine)

When I read, “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God” my Heart did a back flip within me. I had an overwhelming understanding God intends to take this message and use it to bring about the turning of the Hearts of His people back to Him. I had been praying about continuing to write. I had felt it was a waste of time. Then I read this passage and He spoke. I was devastated with Joy. That is not an oxymoron. I wept all day. I worshipped all day. I wrote two chapters that evening. It was incredible. God wants His people to learn to walk in the Spirit. He wants His people to turn their Hearts to Him for fulfillment and no where else. Why? This will make them Holy, cleansed and Christ-like. Walking any other way is nothing but self-focused behavior which defiles them and does not Glorify Him. This means we must learn to Pray Continuously. We must seek the Treasure and treasure it as most priceless. This means self-focused Soul-led behavior has to go.

Oh Lord, I pray for your sheep to learn to hear your voice. I pray they will repent of their self-focused, Soul-led lifestyles and come hard after You. When we live for your Glory we are in the best place Lord because only there are we where You want us. Your will is perfect. Your will be done. Take this message Lord and use it for Your glory—Amen!

Selfless Love vs. Hypocrisy

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:14-17)

I admit it; I am not normally one of those people who are naturally charitable. The personality I was born with is oriented towards perfectionism. That goes with the territory for Database Administrators. Perfectionists don’t have a lot of mercy. However, God wants us to become Christ-like. He is full of mercy and grace. He wants us to show that same mercy to the less fortunate. He wants us to be guides to the lost to lead them to salvation not be judgmental about their sin.

One of the markers for the Spirit-led is Selfless Love. What sort of love is this? It is the same love God has for us. It is “Agape” love. The Greek word used here means the one who is loving does whatever is best for the one loved not what the loved one wants. It is also the love that would cause one to lay down their life for a loved one.

The Apostle Paul wrote a very deep and descriptive treatise on this type of love in his first letter to the Corinthian church. Take your time. Read it carefully. Digest it. Mediate on the wisdom found there.

“If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled. When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good. We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.” (1 Corinthians 13 MSG)

In this beautiful passage we see what the Spirit-led Christ-like believer will be like in his or her relationships with other people. We are to love extravagantly without hypocrisy. How could we love with hypocrisy? That would be doing some of these things that Paul mentions, but with selfish motives. We must attain selfless love. We can’t try to do this. This level of love is made up of the Love which is part of the Fruit of the Spirit. How do we get that to be produced in us?

“But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT)

To have God produce the fruit of the Spirit in our Hearts the Holy Spirit must be in control. That means the Spirit-led will have it being produced by God as he or she walks in obedience.

What sort of believer walks in hypocrisy. The disingenuous believers are those who are not controlled by the Spirit. They are in control of their lives and will not relinquish that control to God. Since they are self-controlled all of their values and actions will be based on whatever values they absorb from what they value most. What is that? They go after self-gratification for fulfillment so whatever values they will be impure. Caution! Many Soul-led believers are quite religious. These believers do church very well, but they are not Spirit-led. They operate in the mode of trying to please God rather than seeking God and letting Him work through them. Their motives are impure.

The fruits of salvation we have been working through in the last several chapters are exclusive to genuine believers. Soul-led believers may not have very high levels of these attributes in their Hearts, but if they are genuine they will have some. Many who call themselves believers aren’t. How can we know? The absence of these attributes in their Hearts will tell us and them. These attributes are the outcome of the Holy Spirit doing His good work in the believer’s Heart through the process of sanctification.

As we mature in Christ the level of hypocrisy in our Hearts should diminish. Why? Jesus’ character was devoid of hypocrisy. As we grow in Christ we will be becoming more and more Christ-like in our character. That means selfless love will replace hypocrisy, genuine humility will replace self-confidence, etc. Let’s make a deep and thorough examination of our Hearts asking God to help us. Let’s examine our motives for how we treat others. How do we react when others are rude or inconsiderate to us? How do we treat others who make mistakes that affect us?

Selfless love is the part of the treasury of the Heart that expresses the treasure to others. This is noticeable by all. The believer who walks this way is “different.” People were drawn to Jesus throughout His ministry. His character was very “different” from everyone else’s and truly godly. He wants to produce that same character in us. I want it. How about you?

Separation from the World vs. Conformity to the World

Sometimes I feel like a broken record. For those of you who aren’t old enough to know what that means I will explain. Before magnetic media such as tapes and Compact Disks (CDs) there was a recording medium known as a Record. Records came in various sizes and were played at various speeds. They were vinyl disks with grooves cut into them spiraling from the outside in. They were two-sided. We played our Records on Record Players. The player would have a turntable and an arm. The arm would hold the stylus which was a needle that rode in the groove on the record. The stylus would pick up the variations cut in the groove by the recording process and translate them into pulses of electricity. These pulses would then be sent to an amplifier which would send the sounds to the speakers. The problem was the Record could be damaged by scratches or become warped by heat. If it was warped or scratched enough the stylus could jump out of the groove it was playing and actually go back to an earlier position in the groove. This would cause the repetition of that portion of the recording over and over again until we would intervene. This was called a “broken record.”

Sometimes I fell like a broken record.  In this case what I mean is I am attempting to explain the various parts of the fruit of salvation and how they relate to the treasure and the treasury of our Hearts and I feel like am just repeating myself over and over again. Why? The message is the same. Becoming Spirit-led should be a priority for all believers. However, the majority of believers does not know this nor seek it. Why? They feel secure in their Soul-led religiosity. It should be obvious that form of living before our Lord does not please Him. What does? Only those who walk in the Spirit, the Spirit-led, live lives which please God. Why? They are the ones who diligently seek Him by faith. (cf. Hebrews 11:4-6) Diligently seeking Him means it is the main priority in their lives. All other activity is subordinate to it.

The one part of the fruit of genuine salvation that raises the most ire from the Soul-led when it is mentioned is the one we are covering in this chapter. Genuine Christianity results in the believer becoming separated from the World because he or she is no longer are conformed to it. What does being conformed to the World mean? It means to live a life that is patterned after the ways of the World which is opposite of God’s way.

“My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence? It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.” (Galatians 5:16-21 MSG)

What are some of the attributes of the one living a life which is conformed to the World? They will feed the compulsions of selfishness because they are completely self-focused. This causes them to see God as unfair, unimportant and in-the-way. They are Soul-led.

Their lives will be driven by erratic compulsions. This means they will be driven by the value system their Souls have. They will seek fulfillment from everything but God’s glory. Their Souls are predominant over their Spirits so all of their focus is on following and attempting to satisfy these compulsions.

By being self-focused and driven by their Hearts their lives will be marked by several ugly behaviors. These behaviors are the result of going hard after those erratic compulsions. Sex is seen as a drive or appetite instead of an expression of love. This actually separates sex and love. The result is repetitive, loveless cheap sex. It is not only unfulfilling it is destructive. Living like this introduces “issues” into the Heart such as Hard-Heartedness. This deadens the ability to react to condemnation from the conscience or conviction from the Holy Spirit. The one living this way will deteriorate into a flesh driven deviant who ends up with a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage.

The vanity of living for self-gratification has taken its toll. Nothing is as fulfilling as it used to be. However the drive to attain fulfillment is huge so they end up in frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness. Happiness is temporal so it does not last. Religion is seen as a way to fulfillment so they go after trinket gods and magic-show religion. They attempt to be devoted to a false god who exists solely to please them like a genie in a bottle in a religion that preaches they must become healthy, wealthy and prosperous while being entertained and having their ears tickled. This does not fulfill either. So they have no peace or joy. They have no happiness because their circumstances are hard.

The whole world is against them so they live in paranoid loneliness. Live is tough and no fun. No one is for them so they must do all for self. This means they become backstabbers who will do anything to get ahead by participating in blatant cutthroat competition. Nothing pleases them for long. Life is so unfair! They buy fast cars, huge boats while going after adulterous relationships but all that just ends up being all-consuming-get-never-satisfied wants.

When people treat them in a way which threatens their pride they respond with a brutal tempter. They lose the ability to see others as anything more than objects for their own use or they are just in the way. This causes them to have an impotence to love or be loved. Since they can’t love or be loved by spouse or children their homes become divided homes and their lives divided lives as divorce takes it toll.

Fanaticism about small-minded and lopsided pursuits, such as sports, soap-operas, liberalism or legalism ends up consuming them. Since they have little fulfillment in their lives they seek to elevate their own self-worth by the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival. The lack of fulfillment in their lives drives them to uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions.

If they become religious in an attempt to rid themselves of all of this fleshly ugliness they get involved in either ultra liberal or ultra legalistic forms of Christianity which are nothing more than ugly parodies of community which say everyone is wrong except their own little group.

Ugh! Why would anyone want to live this way? Well this is what conformity to the World is all about. How do we leave conformity to the World and become separated from it? We must become Spirit-led. Yes, we are messed up, but we can still do it. How?

“However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the HolySpirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:6-16 Emphasis Mine)

We have the Holy Spirit and, therefore, we have access to the mind of Christ. What does that mean? It means God knows we can’t live our ordained, separated from the world lives without extreme help so He gave us what we need so we can become Spirit-led. What will a life separated from the world look like?

“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard–things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good–crucified. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.” (Galatians 5:22-26 MSG)

The Spirit-led life is a surrendered life. It is sold out to Jesus. It lives for Him and is empowered by the Holy Spirit. As a result God gifts the believer who lives this way with the ability to live this godly life. The ability to love others the same way God loves them becomes natural and marks them as being Christ-like. Joy becomes manifest in all of their interactions with people. No matter what their circumstances are like they exude exuberance about life.

The Lord’s peace generates serenity even in the midst of trials and tests. Patience beyond the world’s ability to understand puzzles everyone as the believer waits on the Lord to produce the perfect solution to issues instead of forcing the issue. They stick with their tasks and jobs even when everyone else flees or falls away.

Kindness to believers and un-believers alike draws people to experience Jesus very character in them. They sense compassion for their well-being within this believer. This believer never returns ugliness that he or she is subjected to. Instead they respond in kind forgiveness.

The Savior’s gentle nature marks them as different. They see all people the way God does. God loves all people the same and these believers know this and love others the same way. Even the unlovely are treated as more important than themselves.

These believers walk through life controlled by the Holy Spirit so their passions are the same as God’s. Fleshly or self-centered passions are denied. This means they never force their will over anyone even if it appears to be costly to them.

Legalism is seen as worthless and another form of bondage. These believers never try to force their beliefs on others. Theological disagreements are turned over to God to handle. Forcing their will on others, even when right, is avoided. Pursuit of self-elevation is stopped before it manifests itself. Self-denial and dying to self mark these believers as separate and vastly different than others.

Other Christians become perplexed when God uses these believers in powerful ways. God seems to be speaking directly through their lives. Yet, these believers do not compare themselves to others. They do not put down or look down on the Soul-led believers all around them. Instead they stay on track and pursue their Lord, the Good Shepherd, as the loyal sheep they are.

What does it mean to become separate from the world? It means the believers who grow in Christ and become Spirit-led will take on His character. They will become Christ-like. Their lives will be marked by purity and holiness that the world does not understand. Why?

The Spirit-led live their lives by modeling themselves after Jesus Christ Himself. I remember several years ago a movement started in the USA where, it seemed, everyone had some article of clothing, jewelry, car tags, etc. that had emblazoned on them W.W.J.D. That means, “What would Jesus do?” It was supposed to remind everyone to not make any decisions without first asking that question. Then when it was determined which way Jesus would go then they would go that way. Sounds good doesn’t it? However, I saw so many people in the midst of that not doing it all. It was obvious too. While this may have been well intended it became just another marketing ploy.

How do we model our lives after Jesus so we can become separate from the world? Don’t try to be godly instead become godly. That means become Spirit-led. What will happen when we do that? We start to take on Jesus character. We will continue to become more and more Christ-like as we remain faithful and diligently pursue God.

Who are the possessors of Treasure in Heaven? Those whose lives please God lay up that treasure. What else happens to them? The treasury of godliness in their Hearts is built up. They also have the ultimate treasure, an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. They become citizens of the Kingdom of God which is priceless treasure.

Spiritual Growth vs. Backsliding

Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you–your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust. So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books. So, friends, confirm God’s invitation to you, his choice of you. Don’t put it off; do it now. Do this, and you’ll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3-11 MSG)

Several years ago I went through one of many revivals in my life in which I made a decision to become the mature believer God wanted me to be. I did a pretty good job too, for awhile. However, over the next several months my determination faded and I went right back to being my old fleshly self again. It was during this particular revival I made an acquaintance, on the Internet, with a believer who declared he had the secrets of becoming the true disciple of Christ. I signed up for his newsletter. At first I enjoyed the challenges he wrote about very much. However, not one of the things he espoused really caused any changes in me. In fact some of his teachings seemed too radical because he called for churches without walls, no pastors, scripture wasn’t reliable, etc. Even in my immature spiritual state I could tell something wasn’t right. I never really bought in to his teachings, but I didn’t challenge him either. Why? I had absolutely no confidence in my knowledge of scripture or the peace and joy from God to have the strength to do it.

Well lo and behold just a few week s ago this guy contacts me again and asks me to join his discussion group. I did. He started sending out newsletters again. The first few were simply challenging, but they were the same ones I read from him several years ago. Then he started calling for dropping all reliance on scripture except for the words of Jesus. In fact he started teaching that Jesus Himself had refuted several teachings in the Old Testament. He taught that Paul was probably a heretic and Peter’s teachings couldn’t be trusted because he was such a failure. What happened this time? I contacted him and started questioning and challenging him on these stances. I expected the same sort of polite discussion about scripture that we have in my Bible study groups. Instead his attitude became very arrogant, belligerent, condescending and somewhat bitter. When I proved from scripture where he was wrong he insinuated I had changed my stance from when I started talking to him about this stuff. This went on for several days then I prayed for God to show me what to do. I was given the following scripture.

“You should also know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NLT Emphasis Mine)

When I read that it was like the Holy Spirit pointed directly to those verses I highlighted and said, “There you go.” It was at that moment I reviewed the emails this guy and I were sending back and forth and I noticed he rejected every point I made on subjects like the leading of the Holy Spirit, the wisdom God imparts to us when we ask Him, the ability for us to listen and hear God, etc. The part I took to Heart immediately was to stay away from people like that. I severed the relationship. I would rather have brought this guy back to the faith, but God’s answer was, “move on, you learned something.”

What was the difference between these two encounters separated by several years? I had matured immensely. I no longer rely on my strength and knowledge in spiritual matters. In fact I don’t rely on it all. I listen to what God says and then I do it.

What about backsliding? What is that? It is reverting to sin and wrongdoing. Who does that? Believers do this when they return to Soul-led behavior after they have become Spirit-led. It is the opposite of walking in Repentance.

One of the first churches Paul the Apostle planted was in Galatia. Later he heard that some Jews came to that body of believers and taught they must become circumcised and then keep the Mosaic Law in order to be saved. Many did that very thing. They took on legalism and attempted to add works to salvation. What was Paul’s response?

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-9)

These people had returned from Grace to works for salvation. That is backsliding. Any move by us, spiritually, to another direction other than in obedience to God is backsliding. The Spirit-led remain that way until they backslide. At that very moment they revert to Soul-led behavior and are controlled by their mind, their will and their emotions. They must wrestle control back, seek forgiveness from God, turn away from the sin in repentance then walk forward with God. That will restore them to the Spirit-led walk and renew the covenant with the Lord.

This process is part of what grows us spiritually. Every time we move forward with God in faith we grow spiritually. When we seek wisdom and apply it to our Hearts as He generously gives it to us we grow spiritually. Every time we stand and not fall away when the enemy attacks we grow spiritually.

Spiritual growth is a huge marker in the life of the believer who is laying up treasure in Heaven. The godliness, holiness and Goodness in the treasury of their Hearts are becoming immense. They are solid citizens in the Kingdom of God. The opposite is true of the backslider. In backsliding mode no spiritual growth takes place. It is all flesh driven and can not please God. While contending with that guy on the internet it was very tempting to get down and dirty in the trenches like he did. However, I never did that. I remained polite. I didn’t soft sell anything. I did point out that arrogance was not part of the godly treasure of a true disciple, but was ignored. I could have become emotional and attacked with more than the sword of the spirit, but if I had I would have sinned. I am so glad and grateful the Lord took me through this. Why? I have learned a great deal. The Lord has shown me that contending for the faith is not the same thing as being contentious. When I was emailing that guy several times a day I felt as if he would have attacked me if I told him my favorite color was green. He was in it just for the contention. Praise God we are not called to be like that.

Some may say they aren’t backsliding they are simply a little stagnant. Well if we aren’t walking in repentance we are walking in disobedience. If that is the case we are backsliding. How does God feel about backsliders?

“Don’t ever forget those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail. When all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew you had better things waiting for you in eternity. Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And a righteous person will live by faith. But I will have no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”But we are not like those who turn their backs on God and seal their fate. We have faith that assures our salvation.” (Hebrews 10:32-39 NLT Emphasis Mine)

In this passage we have a picture of God taking believers through trials and building spiritual endurance and patience in them. Then the writer contrasts that wonderful walk by faith which produces spiritual growth with the backslider. What does that believer do? They turn away from God. In fact they turn their backs on Him. Please don’t do that. Pray that you will not seal your fate by turning back to Soul-led behavior.

We must stay the course. We must run the race that is set before us. We must abide in Christ. We must become Spirit-led and remain faithful no matter what our circumstances are. This will mature us to unimaginable levels of Spirituality. Why don’t most believers do this? They are seemingly content in their self-focused, self-gratifying walks. The Spirit-led believers are the only ones who please God. Their treasure is growing. The backsliders are diminishing what little treasure they had. The Spirit-led’s Heart is burgeoning with godliness. The backslider’s Heart is burgeoning with bitterness, and worldliness. The Spirit-led treasures the treasure. The backsliding Soul-led believer is squandering theirs.

Oh Lord, I pray for the reader and myself that we become the Spirit-led believers you desire for us to be. I pray our Heart’s desire will be to walk in the center of your will. I pray for wisdom and understanding to come into our Hearts so we can walk the walk by faith you have laid out for us. I pray Lord we will forsake our fleshly, self-focused lifestyles and pursue the closest relationship with You we can. All for you Glory Lord—Amen!

Obedient Living vs. Walking in Rebellion

“Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life–to God!-is vigorous and requires total attention. “Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma; look for character. “Knowing the correct password–saying “Master, Master,’ for instance–isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience–doing what my Father wills. I can see it now–at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, “Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? “You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’ “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit–but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. “But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.” (Matthew 7:13-27 MSG)

Several months ago my wife, Ina, came home from a new Bible study she had enrolled in. I asked her how it went and her reply has stayed with me ever since. She said, “It was ouchy!” I believe God’s word is like that. When we read and study the Bible the Holy Spirit takes those truths and holds them up to our own Hearts for comparison. That is ouchy. We can not just read the Word then go on living our lives as before. God’s Word is incredible.

“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:11-13)

The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. What does this powerful, living sword cut? It cuts through the fog of lies, thoughts and misunderstandings in our Hearts as it reveals God’s truth to us. Why is that important? What are we like without His truth? We are Soul-led and spiritually helpless. When we read and study God’s Word the Holy Spirit cuts through all of our built up resistance to it causing us to be convicted. This will force us to make a decision. We must exercise our will to obey what He has shown us. We can exercise our will to not obey it, but that is nothing more than rebellion. When we decide to obey then follow through God changes us. He grants us repentance and we grow spiritually. Our faith is built up and we take a step closer to being Christ-like.

To walk in obedience we must get into the Word and get it into us. That means we must study it, learn it and apply it. We must listen to the Holy Spirit as He leads us, guides us and directs us. We must saturate our Hearts with Jesus. That means we must abide in Jesus. That means we must become Spirit-led. The Soul-led do not walk in obedience. If they did they would become Spirit-led. The Soul-led can repent and become Spirit-led and that must become what they shoot for.

Look closely at the passage from Matthew 7 I placed at the beginning of this chapter. Read it carefully. Take your time. Absorb it. What was Jesus telling the people? First He said there were no shortcuts to spiritual maturity. It takes time and exposure to the presence of God to become Spirit-led. There is no easy way. Second, there are many false teachers out there who will cause us to falter and fall out of the race if we follow them. We must not do that. Third, we must seek the Glory of God in all we do not our own glory. The ones who live for God’s Glory are the ones who have died to self, denied self and followed Jesus. They have forsaken all self-gratification and dedicated their lives to living for God’s glory. This is serious business. How do we live for God’s glory? We listen and learn what His will is and we do it. That’s it. That is the essence of the obedient life. Anything less is walking in rebellion.

The Spirit-led believer learns to monitor what his or her Heart is up to. This is required. Why? The Heart will drift right back to seeking self-gratification if we let it. We must not allow that. We must keep our Hearts focused on God. We must pray continually. Walking this way is how we walk in the Spirit. When we do that we please God, because that means we are diligently seeking Him all the time. It is a good place to be.

The Obedient life comes out of the Spirit-led life. The life that is lived in rebellion comes out of the Soul-led life. I am sure many who are reading this right now have determined they must become Spirit-led, but don’t know where to start. The place to start is found in Matthew 11:28-30. Here it is.

^“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

This is a key passage in learning how to become Spirit-led. Why? I used the New King James above because it uses a word that I believe is an important word picture for us. It is the word “yoke.” It implies the Spirit-led walk is one that is yoked up with Jesus. That means we are walking closely with Him and He is helping us because we are yoked up together. However, the key part of this passage is in verse 28. Here is the passage again, but this time I will use The Message.

Let’s go through this one phrase at a time. What does Jesus say? He asks, “Are you tired, worn out, burned out on religion? If so come to Me. I paraphrased, but you get the idea. The Greek behind this passage says exactly what I just wrote. Jesus was calling everyone who was burned out on religion to come to Him. Why? If we do that He will recover our lives and show us how to rest in Him. He will teach us how to live the Spirit-led life which is not bound up in legalism or liberalism. It is simply a life lived in obedience to the Lord. That obedience comes from the empowering presence of God in our lives. The walking through life yoked up with Jesus gives us that power.

Yes, we must start here. Start with Jesus. Get as close to Him as possible and stay there. Seek only to do His will and not live for yourself. Does that sound reasonable or unreasonable? Those of you who feel it is unreasonable are still mired in Soul-led behavior. If you see this as reasonable then praise the Lord because He has drawn you into this closer walk with Him.

The obedient life is the one who is treasuring the treasure. The obedient believer’s Heart is full of Christ-likeness. It is humble, it is full of the fruit of the Spirit and it is becoming full of the Fruit of Salvation. In other words the treasury of Christ-likeness in their Hearts is revealed to all in what this believer does and says.

What about the life lived in rebellion to the will of God? The Soul-led believer’s Heart is not being filled with anything, but worldliness. When stress comes to this believer the world sees someone who proclaims to be a believer, but responds from the treasury of evil in their Hearts with bitterness, anger, arrogance, spite, depression, self-pity, jealousy, etc. Not a very pretty picture. Obedience to God is called for in every instance of salvation I have read in the Bible. Those who live in obedience to Him are saved. Those who are lost live in rebellion.

What’s it going to be then? If you are Spirit-led then hallelujah! Praise God, you are building up that treasury. You are laying up treasure in Heaven and you are a prized citizen in the Kingdom of God. However, if you are not Spirit-led you must repent. You must turn to God and ask Him to guide you through becoming Spirit-led. Start with Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 16:24-27, Romans 12:1-2, John 15, James 4:7-10 and James 1:2-8. Study these verses as you ask the Holy Spirit to teach you the truth. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

The Kingdom of God

After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to speak with Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you.” Jesus replied, “I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.” “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. So don’t be surprised at my statement that youmust be born again. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” “What do you mean?” Nicodemus asked. Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, I am telling you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe us. But if you don’t even believe me when I tell you about things that happen here on earth, how can you possibly believe if I tell you what is going on in heaven? For only I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven again. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole,so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. “There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants.” (John 3:1-21 NLT)

The Kingdom of God is not a place like the United States or France. It isn’t a country we can fly or drive to. We can’t apply for citizenship to it by going to a consulate somewhere. Since it isn’t a place what is it? It is God’s rule in genuine believer’s lives, and God’s culture for them while here on earth and in Heaven. Why is it important for us to understand this Kingdom? Let’s discover this together as we dig for more treasure!

In the passage I placed at the beginning of this chapter we read about a visit the Pharisee Nicodemus made in the middle of the night to Jesus. Never forget this important fact—no one comes to Jesus unless the Father first gives them to Him.

“But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 6:36-38)

Nicodemus came to Jesus because he was being drawn by Holy Spirit to this encounter with God the Son. What did Jesus tell Nicodemus about the Kingdom of God? He said, “I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.” Now that is pretty exclusive. Who becomes part of the Kingdom of God? Only those who are born again become citizens of the Kingdom of God. Does that include those who try to earn their way to Heaven by keeping the Law? Nope! How about those who try to learn as much as possible about theology, but reject all things spiritual? Nope! Only those who submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and accept Him as savior by Faith are granted salvation by the Grace of God. Those who do this have partaken of the Blood Covenant which Jesus instituted by His death on the cross. All genuine believers must die to self as their part of this Covenant. The submission to Jesus as Lord is this dying to self. At the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit baptizes the new believer into Christ by washing their Spirit with blood of Jesus. He then takes up residence there. Sanctification begins immediately. This is the Soul reclamation project. This whole process is what makes us Born Again. All born again, genuine believers are citizens of the Kingdom of God.

The fact we are citizens of this Kingdom implies many things. Like what? We are subject to the King. That’s right; remember that submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Well, that was the beginning of our citizenship. We are the subjects. He is the King. The Kingdom of God is not a democracy nor is it a dictatorship or even a monarchy. It is a theocracy. This kingdom is not run by majority rule. There are no representative bodies of senators. There are no polling places or elections. God is over all. He is subject to no one. We have no rights. We have something much better. We are the children of the King and joint heirs with Christ.

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” (Romans 8:15-17)

What does that mean that we are joint heirs with Christ? That means whatever our lives are like right now is nothing. When we enter eternity with our Savior we will finally see what all this suffering, self-denial and dying to self is all about.

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3)

We will be like Jesus? Yes indeed. We will not be God, but we will have the same type of glorified body He has. He is our forerunner. His death, burial and resurrection lead the way for us. Yes, our bodies will die, but we will follow our savior into eternity to be with Him forever. Now that is something worth looking forward to!

What about now? What impact should the Kingdom of God have on our lives now? We must live Kingdom lives now. Walking in the Spirit is the only way to do that. We must live holy and pure lives before our King. We must use Jesus’ life as our model. We must not be religious for religion’s sake. We must serve the Lord with every part our lives. We must be Christ-like by walking through this life Spirit-led.

“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. Don’t allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, Christians have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect. You can be sure that using people or religion or things just for what you can get out of them–the usual variations on idolatry–will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God.” (Ephesians 5:1-5 MSG)

Many teach that once a person is saved it doesn’t matter how they live. As long as they remain religious and feel guilty now and then they are okay. If you have made it this far into this book you know that’s a bunch of hogwash. The genuine believer’s Heart will be in a constant state of being sanctified. That means changed from the inside out. That means we are being changed by the work of the Holy Spirit in our Hearts, God the Father the vinedresser and Jesus Christ the true vine (cf. John 15). The goal while here on earth is to become Christ-like by becoming Spirit-led. That is how we live Kingdom lives right now.

There are many promises to Jesus’ disciples, those who take up their cross (die to self), deny self and follow Him, which are for the here and now. Here are a few. Take your time. Read it carefully. Digest it. Ask God to examine your Heart. Ask Him to make these promises a reality in your life.

“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or–worse!-stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. “Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have! “You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and Money both. “If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. “Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion–do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best–dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers–most of which are never even seen–don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” (Matthew 6:19-34 MSG Emphasis Mine)

Did you get the promises? What were they based on? If we give ourselves to God completely He will make sure we have all we need, both physically and spiritually. Also, we will become content with His provision. What a deal! What’s the key? It is to live a life lived in complete worship of God. Who does that? The Spirit-led do that. What about treasure? This is the life which treasures the treasure. What is the treasure? It is being a citizen of the Kingdom of God. It is being in Christ living entirely for Him.

I have the privilege of knowing several young adults in our church who are attempting to be all God wants them to be. I am in awe of their dedication to the Lord. I watch as they do not pursue the accumulation of “stuff” so they can be free to go wherever God wants them to go. They do not allow themselves to be tied down to anything which will hinder this. What is the key to their ability to do this? They listen to what God tells them. They do whatever He says. It can’t get much simpler than that can it? Their lives are lived in worship of their Lord. Are they ever discouraged? Yes they are. Do they ever second guess their decisions? Yes they do. Does that mean they have disqualified themselves? Nope! Those are just tests and trials to build their faith. They are becoming Spirit-led. Their Heart’s desire is have God glorified in their lives. What do you think God is going to do with those precious lives offered on the altar like that? I don’t know, but I can assure you they are laying up treasure in Heaven, not on earth. The treasury of their Hearts is becoming full of Christ-likeness. It is the most awesome and humbling experience for me to be associated with them.

In the last passage we looked at I mentioned a word that most people in our Western Culture do not understand. It is the word “content.” The life lived for God is a content life. Circumstances are not the point. God’s glory is the point.

“I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess–happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me–it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles. You Philippians well know, and you can be sure I’ll never forget it, that when I first left Macedonia province, venturing out with the Message, not one church helped out in the give-and-take of this work except you. You were the only one. Even while I was in Thessalonica, you helped out–and not only once, but twice. Not that I’m looking for handouts, but I do want you to experience the blessing that issues from generosity. And now I have it all–and keep getting more! The gifts you sent with Epaphroditus were more than enough, like a sweet-smelling sacrifice roasting on the altar, filling the air with fragrance, pleasing God no end. You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus. Our God and Father abounds in glory that just pours out into eternity. Yes.” (Philippians 4:10-20 MSG)

The Philippian church was not rich. They were generous where it counted though. Paul had learned to be content no matter what his circumstances. How? God changed him so he could do that. Isn’t that what happens in the Hearts of the Spirit-led? Yes it does. The Philippians seemed to have learned that as well. Even though they had little they shared it with Paul for the work. Why? They lived God worshipping lives. They knew where their treasure was and they treasured it. They knew they were children of the King who owns everything. Why worry about anything. Relax and submit entirely to God’s will. Listen to what He says (that means we have to be ready to hear) then do it knowing full well it is by His power and through His Grace we can do anything good.

Does living the Kingdom life here and now mean we will be free from pain and suffering? No it doesn’t. However, no matter what we are going through it must be understood, God allows into our lives whatever is best for us. Yes, even grave illness and the loss of dear ones. Will the Spirit-led Kingdom walker grieve and sorrow? Absolutely! There isn’t anything wrong with that. God is with us, however, in the midst of it all.

“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God’s curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us. Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this freedom. For if you already have something, you don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently. And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And he gave them right standing with himself, and he promised them his glory.” (Romans 8:18-30 NLT)

Knowing this, why do we worry and fret? If we are Spirit-led we won’t. We may suffer and question God sometimes, but the more Christ-like we become the more we attain the mind of Christ. When we grow that way the more we stick our lives like glue to the will of God because we know the truth and we are not going to fall away or give up on God no matter what. Why? Nothing can pry us away from God and nothing can come in between Him and those who love Him.

“What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? (Even the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39 NLT)

The one who lives with this sense of peace and devotion to the Lord is truly a loyal citizen of the Kingdom of God. Who would want to live any other way? Only those who don’t know the truth would choose the way of the world.

What is the treasure? It is eternal life in Christ Jesus which makes the believer God’s child and a joint heir with Him in the Kingdom of God. Who possesses it? Only the born again genuine believer will ever see the Kingdom of God. When the reality of the Kingdom life comes to the believer he or she will fall in love with Jesus all over again as they become Spirit-led. The Spirit-led are the only ones laying up treasure in Heaven because they treasure it. The Soul-led squander theirs. Only the Spirit-led live Kingdom lives here and now. Their treasury in the Hearts is being filled with the fruit of salvation, Christ-likeness and God’s Goodness.

Conclusion

Possessing the treasure is not something that can be attained by doing good works or by being religious. Only the born again believer possesses eternal life which makes them citizens of the Kingdom of God. After salvation believers must mature unto Christ-likeness. That means they must become Spirit-led. They are the only ones laying up precious treasure in Heaven as they live lives which are dedicated to God’s glory.

What is the Treasure? Eternal life and citizenship in the Kingdom of God is the most precious treasure. While living as aliens on planet Earth, however, believers have precious treasure in their Hearts. A clear, pure and undefiled conscience is wonderful, precious, priceless treasure. Why? A conscience keyed into God’s value system operating in a Tender-Hearted Spirit-led believer produces Christ-likeness. The believer walking this way is wealthy in godliness. This believer possesses and treasures their treasure. The fruit of the Spirit and the fruits of salvation are burgeoning in the Heart of the believer who walks this way.

A believer who matures into this spiritually wealthy possessor of the treasure is not walking around flaunting anything. Instead they will become more and more humble. Their walk with God will be close, intimate and will lead to a walk that is unimaginably deep in His Grace. This believer will seek only God’s glory in everything they do as he or she listens, hears and obeys God seamlessly in countless acts of obedience.

Oh my Lord God. I praise you for your Goodness which you liberally show those who love You. Thank you for being patient with us. Thank you for showing us the way to be possessors of the precious treasure of eternal life. Thank you for giving us everything we need to serve you and grow in Christ. Thank you for drawing us into the Kingdom. Lord what awaits the possessors of the treasure in eternity is beyond our comprehension. Lord please give us Kingdom eyes and ears so we can discern your truth and hear your commands so we can obey You. Lord, we understand we need a lot of help. We can do nothing good ourselves. We must be obedient servants doing your will so we can serve you correctly. Oh Lord, open our Hearts. Break up the hardness there. Teach us the truth. Stick us like glue to Your will as You show us the Your truth. Fill the treasury of our Hearts with Your Goodness. Please Lord show us how to get on the altar of self-denial as we become living sacrifices for Your glory. Lord I pray for wisdom for all of us. Show us how to become Spirit-led so we can become the spiritual warriors who are usable for You in the Kingdom. Make us empty chosen vessels of clay which are usable for any of Your purposes. Oh Lord, I pray You will guide us into total surrender to Christ’s Lordship. Teach us how to be yoked up with Him. Oh Lord, empty us of all self-ambition and any desire for self-gratification and make us content in whatever place or position You have us. Burn away everything in our Hearts that is not of You and is of us. All for Your Glory Lord—Amen!

Glossary

Besetting Sins

This is a term which refers to those habitual sins that crop up over and over again in a believer’s life. Salvation itself usually does not remove the bondage to these sins. Examples of besetting sins are lust, covetousness, materialism, anger, complaining, lying, lack of love for others, gossip, cheating, pride, profanity and apathy. These are the base behaviors which make up whole families of besetting sins. These behaviors are very difficult to overcome because they are habitual and can be the basis of a stronghold the enemy has built in the Heart of the believer. The believer will be especially vulnerable to these sins unless they are dealt with Biblically.

Blood Covenant

A covenant is an agreement or contract between two or more parties that is binding. There will be conditions that must be met for all parties. A blood covenant was an agreement sealed by the shedding of blood. The Abrahamic covenant was a blood covenant. He killed and butchered several animals separating the pieces into rows. Then he walked between the pieces signifying the seriousness of the agreement. He was saying let this happen to me if I do not keep my part of the covenant. Salvation by Grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a blood covenant. Jesus’ death on the cross sealed and instituted the covenant. Genuine believers are those who have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ while accepting salvation by Grace. This entered them into this blood covenant with Jesus Christ. His death instituted it. The believer’s death to self entered them into the agreement. It is a binding agreement. Only those believers who have died to self and live for God’s glory alone have entered the Kingdom of God.

God the Father

The Father is the first person in the Trinity. He is on the throne in Heaven. Creation happened according to His will. He is sovereign, holy, righteous and just. He can not be in the presence of sin.

God the Son

The Son is the second person in the Trinity. He is the creator of the universe and man. He is YWHW of the Old Testament and Jesus Christ of the New Testament. He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit to be born a human. He grew into manhood and lived a perfect life. His death on the cross was the establishment of the Blood Covenant which provides salvation to all who, by faith, submit to Him as Lord and accept Him as savior. All this is by the Grace of God.

God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity. He is the part of God which moves throughout creation doing God’s will. He is God’s change agent. He convicts the Lost of sin and draws them into salvation. He leads, guides and directs the lives of believers. He lives within the Spirit of each saved believer. He points all to Jesus.

Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God is God’s rule in believer’s lives, and God’s culture for them while here on earth. Believers must come to a proper understanding of their citizenship. This understanding will cause not only intense love for God, but also separation from the world. This will set aside those citizens as holy unto the Lord. The Kingdom citizens understand they must “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33) This understanding brings contentment and joy that is not driven by circumstances. Citizenship in the Kingdom of God is treasure of the highest value.

Legalism

This is the attempt by professing believers to earn salvation through works. In other cases even those who profess salvation by Grace will be legalistic in areas of forgiveness, giving or theology. Legalism emphasizes believers will be those who keep the rules. Those who are mired in legalism will be self-righteous and say things like, “We can never know if we are really saved.” They can be quite religious and see others who aren’t as in rebellion to their standards. The Pharisees of the New Testament were legalistic. The legalistic insist on 100% adherence to their standards and those who don’t are lost. Some will claim that true believers must keep the Old Testament law to the letter just as the ancient Jews were supposed to. Their view is the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross was not sufficient for our salvation. Works must be added for salvation to be true. Their proclamations sound godly and they say they contend for the faith, when all they really are is contentious.

Liberalism

This is the attempt by professing believers to accept only portions of scripture as valid. They attack the accuracy and veracity of scripture. They pick and choose the parts of scripture to adhere to. The rest of the scripture is written off using various attempts to use scripture taken out of context to explain their pet theories. In most cases they end up saying things like, “Only the words of Jesus are valid. I reject the rest of scripture.” They have to do this because accepting, for instance, the epistles of Paul as scripture would invalidate their arguments against whatever their pet theory is. The Sadducees of the New Testament were liberals. Interestingly, those mired in liberalism can be just as self-righteous as those mired in legalism. Great reliance on the writings of liberal theologians leads to no doctrine at all except all must agree with them. Those who don’t agree with them are ignorant religious nuts. They profess that their little group loves Jesus and all who do as well are welcome, but then attack those who express what the Holy Spirit tells them. Liberals usually attack the Trinity in some way. Some will say Jesus is God and there is no Father or Holy Spirit. Others will say Jesus is not God and is subservient to God the Father. Others say there is no Holy Spirit working in the lives of believers. Some liberals attempt to look like main-stream Christians using words like Discipleship in their name, but then attack all teachings on submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the Blood Covenant. When truth is presented to the liberal they become condescending and attempt to put down the one revealing the truth with intellectually sounding words and attitude. They can be quite vicious with their brutal temper when challenged.

Man’s Body

Man’s body is the physical form of man which enables him to live in and interact with his environment. It contains the five senses. Prior to the fall the body did not get sick, age or die. After the fall sin corrupted the body so it became a vessel of lust. Sickness, growing old and death became a reality.

Man’s Heart

Man’s Heart is the Soul of Man joined to the Spirit of Man via the Conscience. The Heart, prior to the fall, functioned with the Spirit of Man predominant over the Soul in that man knew the will of God because of the communion through the Spirit. This will was passed to the Soul. The Soul would process that information then act to carry it out or not. Prior to the fall man always acted in obedience to God’s will through acts of the will. The fall of man (Genesis 3) was caused by man’s willful act of disobedience to a direct command God had given. This act of sin damaged the joining between the Soul of Man and the Spirit of Man because all three parts of man became corrupt.

Man’s Sin nature

The fall of man caused the Heart of man to become cut off from God. The Conscience could not attain God’s glory so it began pouring condemnation into man’s Soul (as designed). This made man desperate for fulfillment. Sin also damaged the Soul of Man in that knowledge of good and evil came to man. The Conscience took on the role of directing man by condemnation when man did evil and justification when man did good. The Heart of man is desperate for fulfillment, but it can’t contact God because sin has damaged the Spirit so only the Conscience is working. It is deadened to God, but it isn’t dead. This desperation for fulfillment causes man to seek fulfillment via the flesh. This causes more sin. The Conscience pours condemnation into the Soul because of the sin and this makes man discontent. If man refuses to listen to the Conscience and goes on and commits ever worsening sin then a hard or callous layer is formed between the Conscience and the Soul. This is Hard-Heartedness. The Conscience makes man very religious. The drive to worship someone or something is very high because the Conscience will send justification into the Soul when he worships. This fulfillment is very shallow and in no way compares to the fulfillment from being in contact with God’s glory. This condition of a deadened Spirit, corrupt Soul and a Body that is a vessel of lust cuts man off from all two-way contact with God. God can and does still send conviction of Sin into the Heart of man via the Holy Spirit.

Man’s Soul

God designed man’s Soul to express and reflect Him. It is made up of the Mind, the Will and the Emotions. It was not designed to be the dominate part of man because it is focused on the temporal environment. Prior to the fall of man it was subordinate to the Spirit of Man. After the fall of man it became the predominant part of man. It has no ability to contact God.

Man’s Spirit

God designed man’s Spirit to communicate with Him for three different purposes. It is made up of the Conscience, the Fellowship/Communion and the Intuition. The Conscience was designed by God to direct man to be in contact with Him at all times. It sends condemnation into the Soul of man when it is out of contact with God. The Fellowship/Communion is the part of the Spirit where prayer and worship take place. The Intuition is the part of the Spirit where God reveals things to man through spiritual discernment. Prior to the fall of man the Spirit functioned as designed and was predominate over the Soul of man. This meant Adam and Eve lived lives in perfect communion with God. After the fall sin entered into man the Spirit of man was damaged and could no longer contact God as designed.

“OLD MAN” sin nature

The sin nature prior to salvation is still present in the Heart of men and women who have been saved. It desires to be fed by fulfillment from worldly and fleshly things. It does not know God nor understand salvation. Its only desire is to get the save person to seek sinful behaviors so he can experience this fulfillment. It must be denied and kept in submission by the saved person becoming Spirit-led.

Repentance with Joy

This is the method the Spirit-led use to keep their Hearts focused on God for fulfillment. This method calls for the capture of all thoughts and the monitoring of what their Hearts are up to. When the Heart is detected moving to the flesh for an attempt at self-gratification the Spirit-led will stop it, repent and move forward with God in Joy. When he or she does sin the Spirit-led will turn back to God, confess and ask God for forgiveness. Then he or she will get back to walking with God by praying continually. This method brings genuine repentance from sin by actually providing the spiritual strength to turn from sin and walk according to God’s will.

Repentance with Sorrow

This is the way the Soul-led attempt to repent of sin. This calls for tears, self-recriminations, self-pity and will power to try not to do it again. It is a losing battle because will power is not sufficient to keep the Heart from straying back to the flesh for self-gratification. This method of repenting will not lead to genuine repentance from sin because it depends on the sinner’s will power to stop sinning.

Salvation

The purpose of salvation is to reconcile sinful man to God who is Holy and Righteous. Sinful man can not come into the presence of God unless his sins are covered. God loves man His beloved creation. The solution was a blood sacrifice by a person who was perfect. His perfect blood would be more than sufficient to cover the sin of man. This made possible the reconciliation. Jesus Christ, the Son of God became incarnate as a man. He lived a sinless life on Earth among men. He was murdered by sinful men. He died on a cross. At the cross God the Father placed all of mankind’s sin on Him so His death and shedding of blood would pay the price. Man is sinful and can not satisfy, by religion or good words, God’s Justice and wrath against all sin. Jesus’ death was sufficient to satisfy that high cost. Because of this act by God He offers salvation to man so there can be reconciliation. The price for sin has been paid. Salvation is made possible through the Grace of God. The act of man being saved requires men to submit to Jesus Christ as Lord and accept Him as savior by Faith not works. When men do this the Holy Spirit baptizes them into Christ by washing their Spirits with the blood of Jesus. This washes them clean and makes them pure and Holy. This allows the Holy Spirit to make each saved person’s Spirit His abode. At that moment the saved person’s Spirit wakes up. It is now able to contact God as designed which it immediately begins to do.

Sanctification

This term means to make something or someone Holy. When the Holy Spirit makes a person’s Heart His abode at salvation He will immediately begin the process of sanctification of that person’s Heart. This means that person will be drawn into the maturing processes which will bring about repentance from sin and becoming Christ-like. This will take the rest of the saved person’s life.

Soul-led

This is a term which refers to the way both non-believers and immature believers operate in their environment while attempting to attain fulfillment. A Soul-led person is driven by their mind, their will and their emotions. Their main method of seeking fulfillment is through their sensory inputs and the flesh. They are also completely enslaved to patterns of behaviors that feed their pride. The Soul-led are conformed to the ways and values of the World. The Soul-led are operating with their Soul in predominance over their Spirit. The Soul-led are in control of their life in every area. The Soul-led attempt to be spiritual via will-power and self-discipline. The Soul-led can be very religious and appear to live a godly life. The primary motivation for the Soul-led is self-gratification.

Spirit-led

This is a term which refers to the way a mature believer operates in his or her environment. This believer does not seek fulfillment as their primary motivation. The Spirit-led seeks for God to be glorified in him or her. This believer has learned how to walk in the Spirit, walk by faith and abide in Christ. This believer is growing unto Christ-likeness. The Spirit-led are not conformed to the World’s ways or values. The Spirit-led are operating with their Spirit in predominance over their Soul with The Holy Spirit in complete control. The Spirit-led have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and have relinquished control of all areas of their life to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit-led do not try to be spiritual; instead he or she will simply do all they can to hear God then obey Him. The Spirit-led are not bound up in being religious. They may participate in religion, but not as their primary method of serving God. The Spirit-led will walk very close to God and will be seen doing things the simply religious would never do such as praying continually and shedding all aspects of self-righteousness. The primary motivation for the Spirit-led is to do all for God’s Glory.

Strongholds

This is a term which refers to an area in the Heart where Satan and/or his demons have constructed a fortress to protect a besetting sin. This means the enemy of man utilizes this stronghold to keep a believer in a perpetual state of defeat and ineffectiveness for the Kingdom of God due to constant stumbling into sin. This bondage is especially difficult to detect and demolish. Only the power of God can reveal and demolish them. They are constructed of the enemy’s lies the believer has believed about the enclosed behavior. The mortar that holds these “bricks of lies” together is the believer’s devotion to or love for that behavior. These strongholds can be clustered and can interact together. Only by utilizing the Word of God (the sword of the Sprit) and prayer can these structures be found and demolished. Any attempt to bring them down using will power or self-discipline will fail.

The Broad Way

This analogy accompanied the Narrow Way analogy as a contrast. The broad way is the way of the world. It includes religious activities intended to earn salvation. Every method to attain salvation that is on the broad way is false and will not save. The majority go this way. It leads to destruction.

The Narrow Way

This is an analogy used by our Lord Jesus Christ to signify the exclusivity of genuine salvation. There is only one way to salvation. That way is though saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The only ones who do that are those who have entered into the blood covenant with Him by submitting to His Lordship and accepting Him as savior. These are the Born Again. This makes them citizens of the Kingdom of God. Only those who have died to self and live for His glory have found the Narrow Way which few find. It leads to eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

By Mike Ratliff

To My Lord Jesus Christ who changes, inspires, leads and empowers me – All for His Glory

To Ina and Misti – your Spiritual Maturity is an inspiration to me and your encouragement is always perfectly timed

To Mom and Dad – thank you for your unwavering support for me with your encouragement and prayers

To Julie, Tracy, Ken, Betsy and Katie – your diligent pursuit of God followed by your seamless obedience to Him was used by God to point this book in the right direction

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3:1-3

Possessing the Treasure

Table of Contents

Table of Contents. 4

Foreword. 6

Introduction. 9

What is the Treasure?. 11

Obedience. 17

Real Power. 23

A Pure Conscience. 28

Holiness. 34

Hearing God.. 41

God Prepares the Way. 46

God Leads the Way. 58

God Provides the Way. 69

Spiritual Markers. 83

God Rolls Away Our Reproach. 96

God Fights Our Battles. 108

God Demolishes Our Strongholds. 131

Battles may be won, but the War isn’t Over. 152

Renewing the Covenant 172

Genuine Humility vs. Self-Confidence. 183

Love for God vs. Love for the World. 198

Repentance from sin vs. Willful Disobedience. 205

Devotion to God’s Glory vs. Devotion to Self-gratification 210

Continual Prayer vs. Self-focus. 215

Selfless Love vs. Hypocrisy. 222

Separation from the World vs. Conformity to the World. 226

Spiritual Growth vs. Backsliding. 235

Obedient Living vs. Walking in Rebellion. 241

The Kingdom of God. 246

Conclusion. 258

Glossary. 260

Foreword

This book, I pray, will make known God’s will for you so you will seek the promised treasure with your whole Heart.

Yours in Christ

Mike Ratliff

Introduction

Mike Ratliff

What is the Treasure?

We still haven’t defined what the treasure is though. Let’s start our search in the book of Proverbs.

“There is desirable treasure, and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man squanders it. He who follows righteousness and mercy finds life, righteousness and honor.” (Proverbs 21:20-21)

So far, the treasure we have looked at is future. What about now? Do the righteous accumulate any treasure now? Let’s look at a statement made by our Lord.

Spiritual Treasure is:

Eternal Life
Righteousness
Honor
Godly Character

Love
Joy
Peace
Longsuffering (Patience)
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness (Meekness)
Self-control

Love for God (cf. Psalm 42:1; Psalm 73:25)
Repentance from Sin (cf. 2 Timothy 2:20-26)
Genuine Humility (cf. Psalm 51:17; James 4:6-10)
Devotion to God’s Glory (cf. Psalm 105:3; Psalm 155:1)
Continual Prayer (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Selfless Love (cf. 1 John 3:14)
Separation from the World (cf. 1 John 2:15-17)
Spiritual Growth (cf. Luke 8:15)
Obedient Living (cf. Matthew 7:21)

There is one more aspect of the treasure we need to look at before moving on. In a parable Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to treasure.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44)

Remember, Spiritual Treasure is:

Eternal Life
Righteousness
Honor
Godly Character