(Romans 7:14-25) “After all, the law itself is really concerned with the spiritual- it is I who am carnal, and have sold
my soul to sin. In practice, what happens? My own behavior baffles me. For I find myself not doing what I really
want to do but doing what I really loathe. Yet surely if I do things that I really don’t want to do, I am admitting that I
really agree with the law. But it cannot be said that “I” am doing them at all- it must be sin that has made its home
in my nature. (And in deed, I know from experience that the carnal side of my being can scarcely be called the
home of good!) I often find that I have the will to do good, but not the power. That is, I don’t accomplish the good I
set out to do, and the evil I don’t really want to do I find I am always doing. Yet if I do things that I don’t really want to
do then it is not I, I repeat, “I” who do them, but the sin which has made its home within me. When I come up
against the law I want to do good, but in practice I do evil. My conscious mind wholeheartedly endorses the law, yet
I observe an entirely different principle at work in my nature. This is in continual conflict with my conscious attitude,
and makes me an unwilling prisoner to the law of sin and death. In my mind I am Gods willing servant, but in my
own nature I am bound fast, as I say, to the law of sin and death. It is an agonizing situation, and who on
Earth can set me free from the clutches of my own sinful nature? I thank God there is a way out through Jesus
Christ our Lord.” We read of Paul’s realization that as long as the sin nature within him is left alone then he is
powerless to fulfill any desire to operate by doing “right.” It is this “spinning wheel” which keeps us caught, and
under its control we remain hopelessly trapped. When all is said and done, we cannot change ourselves. What we
are is what we will remain regardless of how hard we try to be otherwise. We can put on a suit and tie and take on
a look of “refinement” and “cultural success” but still be a “rat” inside. The world says: “You can change, you can
become this or that” That is true when it comes to achieving success or making career adjustments but when it
comes to departing from what we are as creatures of habit, (sin nature) that is one area we are not able to change.
We are bound fast to a sin nature and it is from that position we “spin.” “Rich rats or poor rats but yet still rats!”
I
always hated the term relatives some times spoke to me in hopes of making me into the world’s image. “You got
to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps,” they would say. The thing is, I hated my boots, so why would I want to
fortify them? Now that is an interesting thought, “the world’s image.” Could it be we labor under the taskmaster of
“image,” always trying to fulfill a drumbeat of someone else’s blueprint of happiness while all the time wearing a
mask in order to show the world how happy and adjusted we are! No wonder there is so much depression and
mental health problems. Society creates their own monsters by demanding a performance that is impossible to
maintain and then when someone “cracks” under its burden then the law steps in and we get to see it all on
television. We have a picture of happiness and a standard of conduct painted on our mind as to what and how we
are to “be.” Yet, deep inside we are not really fulfilled, but we accept that which has been handed to us as “proper.”
I remember going through this same thing years ago at the age of eighteen. I did some quick soul searching of life
and happiness. I remembered my dad’s words, “why don’t you be like me?” he said. At that time I knew he meant
well by saying that to me, for he was trying to get me out of a life that was headed towards crime and jail. However,
I remember thinking to myself, “yea right, why would I want to pattern my life after yours. When all you have to offer
me is a life that is filled with personal disaster.” My search for something other than what the world offered began
when I purposed to find happiness; this search led me down many dead end roads and illusions yet in the end
God was faithful. Victory in life and meaning in life as well will come to us once we realize who we are in Christ.
When we finally quit struggling
With always trying to overcome by way of self-assertiveness and instead walk in the Spirit (knowledge of what we
know in the Spirit) then we will enlarge our camp of authority and usefulness. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Therefore if any
man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” This is a
“fact” statement. Those of us in Christ Jesus find ourselves at the moment of “Spiritual Birth” as in a new life. It is
from this point that we begin our life in Christ as new creatures. (Ephesians 2:13) “But now in Christ Jesus ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” We all at one time lived according to the patterns of
this world, living in deceit and bouncing all over the place doing whatever we wanted to and whatever our minds
wanted at the time. We were children of disobedience deserving wrath yet, “God so loved the world that He sent
His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
(Ephesians 2:10) “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them.” We are God’s work project in Christ Jesus and He is the builder of each of
us. As the master builds, our lives will undergo changes from time to time. All workmanship carried out will be
directed towards “good works created in Christ Jesus.” This brings glory to God, for Christ Jesus is God’s plan for
you and I.
(Philippians 2:13) “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of is good pleasure.” Now this is a “real
eye opener,” if there ever was one! He works in us both to “will and do” His good pleasure. So that tells me this,
that His work in us is what gets the job done, it is not our works or projects but he doing it in us. We can rest in that
knowledge that He is at work in us in Christ Jesus. Our part is to be fulfilled by “trust” and “obedience,” as we
submit to the builder and quietly trust we will then see fruit come forth as He (God) fashions us into the image of
His Son. This is where a lot of problems occur within the Christians life for we are not always in a state of
surrender to the work process that is going on within us. We will “dig in” and fight over changes and God’s leading
when we are not in obedience yet to His “will” for us in the work projects going on. Let me share here a statement
given to me by a brother several years ago. I was constantly having “up and down” swings in my walk with Christ.
One day this brother spoke to me of my condition. He said, “you won’t have these problems if you will “commit”
your life to God.” The problems I was having been because of that very thing! On that day I committed my life to
Christ and the problems I was having fell off as well. So you see, we can be a Christian by the Blood of Christ yet
still be all over the “woodwork” due to a lack of a personal commitment to the cause of Christ within us. For me
growth occurred over a series of convictions and testing that pushed me to the edge of my relationship with Christ
on several occasions. As we seek to move ourselves out from a particular place or level of learning because the
grass looks “greener” on the other side of the “Spiritual valley,” we leave the place of learning that can only be
achieved by hanging in there when the going gets “rough.” To often we want to deliver ourselves out of the furnace
of a bad boss or a lousy job. Not realizing that God has put us they’re in order for us to learn some truth that can be
a victory in the future for someone else as we testify over it. If we are ever to grow up and see maturity in our lives
we need to be willing to let the “work of God” carry on to it’s completeness at each level of testing. Let me share
with you a personal testimony to give backing to this statement. I wrote this out in a previous writing and I will place
it here to add substance to my remarks.
God Says No
I often wonder about why sometimes God will let us plunge on ahead without stopping us from some of the stupid
things we do. And then other times He aggressively will take steps to block our every move. Here is a true story on
just one such occasion when God put a roadblock in my path. We live here on the Oregon coast where the weather
is nice and the fishing is great, depending of course on the type of bait I use! Anyway, I knew the Lord had brought
us here from the states of Idaho/Washington. The move here was like that of leaving a desert to a place of
abundance. However, after being here for about a year or two, I had lost my job. Like most of us who lose our jobs
it can really be a trial and a test all at once. Of course my wife was more stressed out about it than I was. I was
content to live on unemployment and spend days fishing for the mighty salmon! As you can guess, her and I had
two opposite points of view, which put a strain on our romance and flowers. As the story goes, I began to realize it
was time now to begin getting serious about looking for a new job. My unemployment was almost depleted and so
was my wife’s happy face. Talking about Ma and Pa Kettle, we were they for sure! One day while looking in our
local newspaper I saw a company taking applications for lumber mill workers. Well, that was a job that I have lots
of experience with, so off we went. We drove half way across the state of Oregon to check it out. When I got there I
was given an interview and a promise that if I got the job they would call. Well, I heard that before and I was not too
impressed. The town where the job was at was a real dust bowl. Tumble weeds and desert rats were the main
population of the town. Just one look around at this place and I thought to my self, “OH MY GOD!” But leave it to me;
I was willing to put aside my personal beliefs in God’s will and being planted where He called me. That day I
decided to become a “TRANSPLANT BELIEVER!” I would re-locate Gods will from point A to point B! Then after
things got settled I would turn over the reigns to God again so He could continue to bless me. Oh happy day! So,
we drove around town and looked at the town that lived on the edge of hell. I remember looking down an old mine
shaft and way at the bottom I could see flames of fire glowing, plus there seemed to be what appeared to be a
pitch-fork moving back and forth. It was a very bleak picture and I kept saying, “OH MY GOD!” On the next block I
saw a company that had a sign out front that read, “NOW HIRING!” It was a feed mill and I had worked in one of
them before in Spokane. I got out of the car with a “trying to convince myself thought,” that God was now on my side
and this was His hand at work. So I walked into the office and asked for a job. The foreman was a weather beaten
farmer type, he saw me as the one for the job, now you know they had to be desperate! I was told to come back in
one hour and meet the boss. So off we went and we even prayed for God’s will to be done. Even though we were
determined to plunge forward regardless! I went back at the set time, as soon as I got out of the car, my back went
out and I was in so much pain, it took everything for me just to walk into the office. There sitting in the chairs were
the boss and the foreman along with one other person. I wonder who that other person was maybe it was God!
Anyway, I was hurting and they could tell something was wrong. They asked about my back. I told them, “don’t
worry about it boys, I will be ok!” After a few minutes of silence and stares the boss said to me. “HOW IS YOUR
LUNGS? DO U HAVE ANY PROBLEMS IN YOUR BREATHING?” Before I could even answer his question all of
sudden the most horrible itch welled up with the back of my throat. It took my breath away! Tears came to my eyes
and I started to cough. It was so bad that all I could do was whisper. I did not get the job! They told me to take my
back and my cough and get out! God said no! So God does intervene on our behalf when necessary for our own
good! I learned a lesson on that day. Don’t seek to physically move out of that place God has called you to live.
Doing so is like running from God and he will block you nine times out of ten. Yes there is that 1% of the time
where he won’t – but that is another story all together. By the way, as soon as I got out of that office and back into
the car, my back and throat went back to normal! My healing was complete! If we are in a situation that we don’t
care for, don’t be too quick to try to change it! HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD THIS MORNING: God is at work to
perfect each of us. Allow him the freedom to do what needs to be done! Trust him to do the work in you and do not
take that work out of his hands. “All things work together for good (Bible) for those who love GOD and are called!”
His grace is
Extended to each of us. Allow the work of perfection to be completed and don’t rebel at the ways of the Lord but
rather submit to his hand and say, “Lord have your way.” God is not a god who will disappoint us and leave us in
despair. His ways are far above our ways and He ALWAYS has our best interest in mind. It is my prayer that this
will be uplifting and helpful. God is good and greatly to be praised. Ok as I said earlier this message was writing
however it “fits” in line with my point. We must not seek to move out of the “will of God.” When He is at work within
us there will be times we will find ourselves in situations that personally will not be pleasant or enjoyable to self. If
we are in a “commitment agreement” to following after the Lord then that means we do not lay claim to “doing our
own thing.” But instead we follow that still small voice. We should no longer dictate the terms of service, but
instead “trust” the master in the conditions we exist in.
