Greetings in the Name of Jesus and welcome to the PLN Sunday Night Bible Fellowship!
The Bible says that the EXPERIENCES of the Israelites in the wilderness have been recorded in writing as EXAMPLES for New Testament believers (1 Corinthians 10:11). An EXAMPLE is something that serves as a precedent or a model or a pattern that can either be imitated of NOT imitated as appropriate. It can also refer to a punishment that serves as a warning. Indeed, the Scripture makes it clear that these particular EXPERIENCES have been written down as an INSTRUCTION for avoiding evil conduct (1 Corinthians 10:6).
As pointed out in previous articles, INSTRUCTIONS in the Word of God should always be viewed as something a loving Father has provided for the benefit of His children. They haven't been written down as just some religious thing to fulfill on Sundays (or whenever) in our local churches so that God will like us better. He ALREADY loves us with the maximum amount of LOVE that can possibly be released and no religious act or work we can do or not do now is going to change up or down the level of His LOVE. His LOVE is absolute, complete and unmerited; there's absolutely NOTHING we can ever do to deserve it. He even loved us when we were still His enemies (Romans 5:10) so now that we've been reconciled (Romans 5:10-11) the next level of His LOVE is to help us become overcoming Christian Believers who ALWAYS get the Victory in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57 with 2 Corinthians 2:14).
It's important to understand that the Kingdom of God has been set up in such a way that the consequences of our actions and choices come to us more or less automatically. Under the New Covenant God is NOT up in Heaven handing down demerits and punishments every day in response to our good or bad behavior. Jesus has ALREADY paid for our behavior so it's impossible to accuse God of being a respecter of persons: Jesus doesn't heal one person and let another one die in their infirmity because of their individual works. He doesn't prosper one person and let another one wallow in poverty because the former was more righteous or holy than the latter or visa-versa. It doesn't work that way even though that's where religion always takes us. No, success or failure in the Kingdom of God occurs as a result of what we do in response to the GRACE that God has made available to all of us through Faith in Christ. Do we conduct ourselves in Spirit-led ways of Faith that CONNECT us to His GRACE or do we insist on pursuing life in the Flesh by our own strength which always CONNECTS us to the World and its related FEAR and failure.
In that context, one of the things the Israelites did that God particularly did NOT like was that they grumbled and complained all the time (1 Corinthians 10:10). In other words, they were UN-grateful for their deliverance from Egyptian bondage and dissatisfied with the way God was dealing with them as they started on their trip to the Promised Land. Why was that so important to God? According to the Word there were two basic reasons: 1) their complaining was rooted in unbelief (Hebrews 3:12) and disobedience (Hebrews 4:6), and 2) they opened a door to the Destroyer (1 Corinthians 10:10). God wants Christians to be people of strong FAITH so He can REWARD us (Hebrews 11:6) and help us close the door to the Destroyer. Indeed, the point we've been making has been that the way to accomplish this is by conducting ourselves OPPOSITE to the way of the Israelites. Instead of being people who grumble and complain to God all the time about our circumstances, He's trying to help us become GRATEFUL folks who can close the door to the Destroyer and be led by the Holy Spirit into the total Victory that God wants us to experience in the Promised Land which under the New Covenant turns out to be the Kingdom of God.
Watching Out for the Hindrances
In sum, we should be paying a lot of attention to the EXPERIENCES of the Israelites instead of just glossing over them from time-to-time for some light reading. And along with that we should be RESISTING the hindrances that the devil/destroyer sends against us to try to make us return back from being GRATEFUL people to the grumbling and complaining folks we used to be. We should anticipate that those hindrances are coming and then RESIST them when they show up. When we catch ourselves grumbling and complaining to God about something, we should look for what caused it and then take the necessary action to return to GRATITUDE and THANKSGIVING.
Not only did the Israelites complain about what God was doing but they also complained about Moses and they complained about Aaron and they complained about each other and about the food and the weather, etc. And, Believers are doing the same things 3,500 years later as the devil does everything he can to DIVIDE the Body of Christ and pit one individual against another or one congregation against another or one denomination against another. So many Believers these days think it's their particular calling to grumble and complain about their Pastors or about how the Elders run things or how rude the deacons are or how poor the teaching is and a long list of other things they're not happy about. There's strife all around us and where do you suppose it comes from? As we saw last week strife ALWAYS comes from PRIDE (Proverbs 13:10) and PRIDE ALWAYS comes from the enemy. Strife is a particular hindrance to watch out for and a lot of folks need to just shut their mouths for awhile and stop sinning.
The Hindrance of Unforgivensss
Now one of the possible results of strife is an unwillingness to FORGIVE and even though the Bible warns against it, a lot of folks in the Body of Christ make it a point to not FORGIVE others for particular incidents or past affronts or insults. UNFORGIVENESS occurs when one of the parties to the strife purposes to remain offended and refuses to FORGIVE the other party over an extended period of time. They cut themselves off from the other person and their refusal to FORGIVE becomes an act of JUDGMENT and PUNISHMENT and I have personally known many Christians who've maintained grudges against other Believers for DECADES including Pastors and ministers who know better but refuse to obey the Word. The JUDGMENT AND PUNISHMENT of people fall under God's purview but UNFORGIVENESS happens anyway even though we have scriptures like the following INSTRUCTING us to avoid it:
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.
If we refuse to notice or take account of some wrong committed against us then it's impossible to enter into strife. And if we refuse to enter into strife it's impossible to be the instigator of UNFORGIVENSSS. Some other party may decide to not forgive you for something you said or did to them but you don't have to enter into the UNFORGIVENESS with the one you wronged or offended. If you do something wrong to a brother simply apologize for it, ask for forgiveness and go on about your business. Why should we be so concerned about UNFORGIVENESS? The reason is that it robs us of our joy and our peace and our GRATITUDE and also because God particularly hates it. Here's what Jesus said IN RED LETTERS about people who harbor UNFORGIVENESS:
Matthew 18:34-35 = My heavenly Father will hand over to the torturers (the destroyers) those who refuse to FORGIVE their brothers from their hearts.
Now friend, I am just reporting what the Word of God says. Jesus said it and I'm summarizing it here to make a point. If you want to be successful in the Kingdom of God you need to stay as far away as possible from UNFORGIVENESS. And everyone I've ever known who was susceptible to it was also someone who grumbled and complained all the time. They complained about their circumstances, they complained about other people, they complained to God and about God and they were just generally unhappy and grumbling about life most of the time. Believers who're GRATEFUL to God about all the stuff He's doing in their lives don't have time for UNFORGIVENESS. They're busy doing the work of the Kingdom of God and they refuse to take account of any wrongs they happen to suffer. They leave those things for God to deal with rather than becoming offended and entering into strife.
And so, one of the ways to guard against UNFORGIVENESS is to develop that lifestyle of THANKSGIVING I've been writing to you about all these weeks. You want to close the door to the Destroyer but UNFORGIVENESS will open it wide so he can come in and wreck your life. Many folks, probably most, who walk in UNFORGIVENESS have a lot of health issues to deal with and if they have prosperity in their lives it comes with sorrow attached. They have a pattern of relationship problems and a lot of difficulty loving others. They're often anxious and full of fear, unable to trust God, carnal in their ways instead of spiritual.
But you don't to be like that if you work on becoming GRATEFUL and refuse to notice when others try to hurt you. God will protect you even as the UNFORGIVENESS of others causes them a lot of discomfort. The way to deal with those who won't FORGIVE is to pray for them to break out of their bondage and away from their torturers so they can return to full fellowship with the Lord and enjoy the Victory He wants them to have. Use the Israelites as the example of what NOT to do even as you look to Christ as the example for what you SHOULD do (John 13:15). Let God know how GRATEFUL you are, study and meditate on the Word and you will find yourself inextricably attached to His GRACE.
Thanks for dropping by tonight. We'll be looking for you again next Sunday evening, on July 1st and we hope you'll continue to join us each and every 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
© Make A Way Ministries, Inc.
10621 North Kendall Drive - Suite 113
Miami, Florida 33176
