THE SIN PROCESS
As a part of the journey that we find ourselves on in this hour the Lord would have us be very clear what is required in order to be fully set apart to his service. For that reason it would be good for us to understand the nature of the battle that we find ourselves in. It would be true to say that life has many elements to it and in scripture we discover that one of the primary reasons that Jesus came to this earth was to rescue us from this present evil age. We read that in James that Jesus came to rescue from this Evil age of sin and death. (Gal 1:4).
At it’s most basic … Sin is rebellion against God and his ways and that often begins with temptation.. Just as Jesus was tempted … we know that we too are continually being tempted by the evil one.
In the book of James we learn about the process that takes place when we are tempted to sin … We are tempted… when we are dragged away [by our own evil desires]. After desire is conceived it gives birth to sin; when sin is full-grown it gives birth to death. (Jas 1:14)
When we give in to ‘temptation’ SIN is birthed. The words says that after temptation is conceived … it gives birth to sin ! Temptation visits our door but it is not until we give way to that temptation so that we begin to act on our imaginings that sin is born. We sin is born it translates to rebellion against the ways of God for we are called to be holy just as God is holy. When we succumb to sin out of disobedience … just as it was with Eve in the garden we are choosing to follow our own fleshly desires instead of obeying the ways of the Lord.
When Eve chose to bite into the apple it was an act of rebellion out of her evil desire to taste taste forbidden fruit. Eve was sure the apple must be just what she needed however scripture warns us;
there is a way that seems right to a man but it leads to death. [Prov 4:12]
Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived but we discover that his human wisdom did not protect him from making very ungodly decision. By choosing to go his own way and marry foreign women, they introduced their gods into Hebrew culture. By disobeying God’s instructions Solomon rebelled against God and in the end it led to the absolute destruction of Israel.
We need the wisdom of God … not man’s wisdom ….to rescue us from this evil age.
In the 21st century, abortion the world over is recognized to be a huge problem. It seems however that we have failed to acknowledge the root cause of this problem. Mankind and womankind has an ongoing desire to satisfy the lustful desires of the flesh and it has been this desire to satisfy the lusts of the flesh that have led to the place where each year millions upon millions of the unborn are killed before ever they are born.
When we give in to our fleshly desires, sin is born! This is the true root of the problem of abortion. Sexual temptation that leads to sin … which in the end leads to the death of countless children.
Last month we talked about the High Places. Sometimes that can be difficult to identify in our lives and so the Lord is Clarifying the root of the problem for us.
Our evil desires succumb to temptation which then becomes sin. We give in to the temptation of lust we set it up as a high place in our lives which we choose to visit again and again.
But why NOW…. Why would the Lord be bringing this word to our attention at this particularmoment.
Because In this moment we are standing on Holy Ground
Because God has prepared us to be his holy vessels to be used for his purposes and sin must be rooted out in order for use to be vessels worthy of being in service to the Lord .
God wants us to be aware of all the enemy uses against us to interfere with His plans so that we can be protect ourselves against his evil schemes.
The Lord reminds us that we are not capable of rescuing ourselves …. that is why the Lord Jesus sent his Holy Spirit.
We are being charged to instruct our flocks about the dangers that are all about us in this present evil age.
Although Jesus won the battle, Satan remains Prince of this world
A story of the effectiveness of succumbing to sin from modern times …….Hillsong Worship ….. His Remnant …..to recognize the nature of the battle we are in we need only look to the effect that sin has had on the internationally successful ministry of Hillsong Worship ministry. At last count the leaders of the ministry in Australia have been removed and of 16 congregations in the United States, 9 no longer exist and all as a result of our inability to defend ourselves against the nature of sin.
We have been called to join the Lord in a holy moment.
In terms of disobedience ….. Israel paid a very high price ….. The result was that God began to withdraw his presence. It’s happens when a people are not completely and rightly focused on him. God begins to remove his presence.
In the book of Ezekiel we read that the Lord began to withdraw his presence. From his people. It didn’t take place al at once. At first it moved from between the wings of the cherubim above the alter in the holy of holies to the threshold of the temple. The door as it were. Then he moved to the east gate of the temple grounds and finally He moved to the mount of olives.
At the base of the mount of is located the garden of Gethsemane whichis the pace where our Lord Jesus shed his tears in anticipation of all that he was about to endure. Eze 9:3; 10:19; 11:23
When we rebel against our God refusing to do his will, God weeps over the loss of his children. History confirms that in the end the temple was entirely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Just as it was with the children of Israel who wandered for 40 years in the wilderness God has no choice but to punish those who choose disobedience as the road that they will travel.
I have shared that our God sings over us as his people. He does and as well we discover that God marks those who are his own. We are marked with the holy spirit as a deposit of what is still to come meanwhile God wants us to recognize that there remains much to do. We have been called and are being equipped for his purposes. As his remnant we must daily continue daily to choose him.
We read in the book of Ezekiel that our Lord put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are being done. Is your heart breaking !
That is why he is sending us this message. He wants us to protect our people by clearly showing us ways that the enemy has devised to destroy us. God says fix your eyes on me not on this world . I have plan for you …. A plan to bless you and not to harm you!
If your anything like me, your heart is breaking as we look at all that is happening in our world today. Be encouraged however that Lord has marked as untouchable so long as we remain fully available to him.
Jesus won the battle but Satan remains Prince of this world We need the power of the spirit to be able to defeat temptation so that sin will not be birthed.
God has called us. He has marked us and he sent us as His spiritual search and rescue team to pull up all those who are looking to grab onto a spiritual life line by obeying Him and resisting temptation. He has an assignment for us and He is in the process of unveiling it.
Because he loves us he wants to protect us and mark us as his own his from all that is about to come upon this world as a consequence of rebellion and sin.
In the world we are witness to the fact that the Lord has indeed removed His presence from above the altar. He is about to pour out punishment on those who have rebelled.
But he has marked his own. To remain protected however, we must know how to rise above temptation before it becomes sin so that we can fulfill the calling on our lives as His remnant.
As his shepherds we are being asked to bring caregiving and holy direction to our people by teaching truth. Our job is to Prepare and nurture and equip and enable our people.
That is the nature of my commitment to you ….. and it must be the nature of your ministry to your people.
Jesus truly did come to rescue His people from this evil age and as his disciples we have been called to do likewise.
