Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship!
As discussed in previous articles, there're numerous scriptures in the bible instructing us to be people of THANKSGIVING, grateful to God for all things, continuously open and receptive to His leadings and purposes, willingly led by the Holy Spirit, etc. GRATITUDE isn't supposed to be just a religious exercise we do because God is worthy although that's a true statement: He is worthy if for no other reason than simply because He's Creator God. But a higher reason for us is that being GRATEFUL is for our own good because it connects us to His GRACE with the empowerment we need to turn defeat into victory, trials into triumphs and wildernesses into promised lands. The fact is ALL the INSTRUCTIONS in the WORD of God are there for our own good and if we can come to look at it that way we'll be a lot more eager to agree with them and then receive all the best of what God has for us.
If THANKSGIVING is able to do all these great things for us, you can be assured the devil knows about it. He's seen what happens when Believers become GRATEFUL people instead of the complaining, grumpy folks we otherwise are. So once we start trying to change from being grumpy all the time, he can be counted on to try to disrupt our determination to be GRATEFUL. He doesn't want anyone to succeed at making that change because it's such a powerful connection to God's GRACE which of course the devil is terribly afraid of. If you're still grumpy all the time blaming God for all your trials and tribulations instead of taking responsibility for your own decisions and choices in life then he won't be bothering you as much as he will once you start trying to change from grumpy to GRATEFUL. But that's part of Christian life: we're supposed to confront and OVERCOME the devil with the Name of Jesus whenever we need to.
The Nature of Hindrances
When the Adversary tries to interfere with our ability to receive something good from God, we can accurately refer to it as a HINDRANCE. The Kingdom of Darkness is constantly trying to HINDER or "block" our connection to the Kingdom of God especially in the lives of those who're actually trying to walk in LOVE and grow their FAITH. When we seek FIRST the Kingdom of God we WILL receive the things in life we most need (Matthew 6:33), and what the devil wants to do is HINDER that process. He's most happy when we're blaming God for everything in our lives we don't like and when we're trying to overcome our circumstances in our own strength or by turning to the World's ways of doing things.
Another thing he likes is when we cry out for God to remove our HINDRANCES for us because he knows that most likely God isn't going to respond to that request. According to the Word of God, which the devil has pretty much memorized, the responsibility for RESISTING him under the New Covenant has been delegated to Believers and it's our job to RESIST him ourselves with the Word of God (see how it's done in Matthew 4:3-11) and with the Name and authority of Jesus (James 4:7 and 1 Peter 5:9). ALL authority in heaven and on earth has ALREADY been given to Christ (Matthew 28:18) and we're able to appropriate that authority in FAITH. God is NOT going to do our job for us.
Our determination to become GRATEFUL people will attract the enemy. But we pursue it anyway because we want to enjoy God's best in our lives and because by FAITH we're confident that the Name of Jesus will get us to where we want to be. We should expect HINDRANCES, recognize them when they appear and then do what we have to do to overcome them. Tonight we want to examine the HINDRANCE of STRIFE because it's one of the most common obstacles we face.
The Nature of Strife
I don't have to tell you that STRIFE is everywhere on the earth. It's defined as a heated conflict or a bitter dissention or a struggle between contending rivals and the Bible INSTRUCTS Believers to stay out of it (2 Timothy 2:24). Remember: biblical INSTRUCTIONS are always there for our own good; but unfortunately not only is STRIFE everywhere on the earth, it's also everywhere in the Church. Folks who've been Believers for many years, even decades get offended for the least of reasons even though the Bible says the following:
1 Corinthians 13:4-5 = Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered.
Jesus repeatedly COMMANDED Believers to LOVE one another (Matthew 22:39, John 13:34, 15:12, etc.) which REQUIRES that we do whatever we can consistent with biblical INSTRUCTION to avoid STRIFE. You can't LOVE someone and fulfill the above scripture at the same time you're both in prolonged STRIFE even though there're millions of Christians today saying that even though they've refused to speak to certain people for decades they actually really do LOVE all those folks. The scripture is clear though: "LOVE (agape) does NOT take into account (in any way) a wrong suffered" and that would include not speaking to people. The hypothesis of simultaneous LOVE and STRIFE is unscriptural and represents a huge deception that many Believers throughout the Body of Christ need to deal with.
Now since STRIFE stops agape LOVE in its tracks, it's also impossible to be continuously involved in STRIFE and at the same time be a GRATEFUL person. Believers who take offense all the time are the grumpiest people in the Body of Christ and just like the Israelites they have a lot of trouble arriving at the Promised Land that God has set aside for them. Therefore, STRIFE is a HINDRANCE for connecting to God's unmerited favor and empowerment (GRACE) and the devil is working 24/7 to stir up as much of it as possible to HINDER us from achieving our potential in the Kingdom of God.
STRIFE requires that at least two people CONTEND against each other. So my responsibility is to walk in LOVE and to do my part to avoid STRIFE even though I realize that other folks may decide to take offense at something I do or say. I can't be responsible for what other people do or say or think but I am responsible to LOVE other folks and do what I can to stay out of STRIFE with them. I am responsible and other folks are responsible as well TO NOT TAKE OFFENSE no matter what the provocation turns out to be. If I refuse to become offended, then the confrontation becomes one-sided and I successfully overcome in my own life the STRIFE that the enemy had intended as my HINDRANCE. Following are a couple of ideas to help in avoiding STRIFE:
1. When faced with the possibility of STRIFE, I need to ask myself why the other person is doing or saying the thing that is prompting me to get angry.
2. I need to give up my rights to be the prevailing party in a particular issue in order to avoid anger.
3. I need to remember Philippians 2:3 = "Do nothing from selfishness or conceit but with humility regarding others as more important than myself."
The Bible says that STRIFE comes only by PRIDE (Proverbs 13:10) which is the absence or the opposite of HUMILITY. Another way of saying this is that the devil manipulates us through PRIDE in order to cause STRIFE. In a biblical sense PRIDE is self-love, or self-interest, or being self-absorbed, or an infatuation with one's perceived self-importance. It's the elevation of SELF above the interests of others. Lucifer fell because of PRIDE: he tried to elevate himself above the level of God and entered into STRIFE where he remains to this day. And SELF is what we have to watch out for if we want to avoid STRIFE. Some people are easily offended because they are SELF-ORIENTED. Their offenses are fueled by FEAR that what someone does or says or even thinks will detract from their self worth, that it will make them less of a person than they think they are even though the truth is that without Christ their precious SELF isn't worth anything. On our own we have absolutely NOTHING to be proud about. And don't forget one REALLY important thing: God OPPOSES/RESISTS the PROUD (1 Peter 5:5). Is it not way better to give up your right to be offended than to insist on being in STRIFE and have God oppose you?
In sum, each of us needs to do our own part to avoid STRIFE realizing that other people are also involved and that we can't control what they do. Nevertheless, we can control ourselves and we can make an irrevocable decision to react righteously to any temptation. The Bible says it's an honorable thing to try to stay away from STRIFE (Proverbs 20:3) and it's for our own good that we try. Working on becoming more GRATEFUL will help us stop focusing on ourselves so that instead we can start focusing on God and in that process we'll avoid STRIFE, we'll become the people of THANKSGIVING God wants us to be and we'll stay connected to His GRACE in every area of life.
Thanks for dropping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again next Sunday evening, on June 24 and we hope you'll continue to join us each week as we continue to study the POWER of THANKSGIVING. Until then may God bless you and your family with every spiritual blessing in the Name of Jesus (Ephesians 1:3).
Sinners' Prayer
If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you need to and you can do it today just by saying out loud the following simple prayer:
Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and that God raised you from the dead. I acknowledge that my sins have been forgiven and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.
If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.
And, when you get a chance have someone help you look up the following scriptures because they confirm what you've done by saying this prayer today and believing what you said:
Romans 10:9
2 Corinthians 5:17
Ephesians 2:8
Prayer Requests
If you have a Prayer Request, please connect to the Link below and follow the promptings. The PLN staff members pray over Prayer Requests every Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM eastern time. Agree with us for God to answer your petition.
http://www.creditcounseling.net/prayer-request.aspx
Donations
If you've been edified by Prosperous Life Newsletter, you may want to consider making a SEED FAITH offering to support the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7). God has instructed us to simply provide folks with an opportunity to sow seed into good ground so in due season you'll be eligible to reap a harvest and the rest is up to you as the Spirit leads. For your information PLN is a nonprofit gift to the Body of Christ so your financial offerings will usually be tax deductible (consult your tax advisor). Just go to the secure Shopping Cart on the Cornerstone web site by connecting through the following link. We appreciate your support and generosity.
http://www.creditcounseling.net/shop/item.aspx?itemid=1
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