Consequences

Numbers 32:23 – “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, the Holy Spirit challenged me to think.  Think?  Yes, but specifically about consequences.

Consequences?  Yes, the Law of Sowing and Reaping is always in force in Everything.  Always!   In Numbers 32:23, Moses said to the two and one-half tribes before Israel moved into their Promised Land regarding explicit obedience: “Be assured! (Emphatic). “Be sure! Your sin will find you out!”

Consequences!   In life, sin has residue, including forgiven sin.  God forgives, but the consequences may still bring pain and likely will.  Excess in anything has lasting effects, mentally, emotionally, materially, physically, and spiritually.   Forgiveness opens the door for entrance into the promised land. But remember, the promised land is occupied.  Explicit obedience is the only pathway to liberty.

The process:

• Drive out the inhabitants.

(That would be the influences of the demonic, the acts of sin, and the habits of excess). You cannot hold on to the habits and practices of the world and live in the Freedom of peace at the same time.

• Destroy the idols and houses or systems of darkness.

Get rid of sin. Walk away from the past.

• Possess and occupy the newness of life.

Like springs, you cannot produce sweet and bitter water simultaneously. You cannot exhibit the fruits of darkness and have the fruits of righteousness at the same time.

• Embrace your inheritance.

God owns Everything, and through Grace and Faith, He has given us His Promise of Newness of Life!

John 8:12 reveals that Jesus is the Light of Life! He has declared Freedom for those who believe and receive.

John 8:31-32 – “If you ABIDE in My Word, THEN you are truly My disciples. You will KNOW (γινώσκω – ginosko = to know absolutely, absolute oneness. Know through personal experience) the TRUTH, and the Truth (that you know and become intimate with) will SET you FREE!”

John 10:37 reminds us that the proof is in the pudding.  If we do not walk the walk, talking the talk will be hollow.

But to encourage everyone, even though consequences have a lingering power, God’s Love will carry us through IF.   If?   If we continue in Him in explicit obedience.   Shun the very appearance of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:2).

Walk away from sin by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Do not dabble in darkness.  Do not be deceived.  Play with fire, and you will get burned.  It takes God’s power to be free and requires our total commitment and the exercise of willpower.  It is Grace, but that requires us to give God ALL.   In God, it is all or nothing.   You cannot be a little pregnant, nor can you be a little committed.  All in or not in.  Which do we choose?  He awaits our choice and stands ready to help those who go ALL IN.

LORD, help us make the right choices so we enjoy the blessings, not the consequences!

Luke 21:34-36 – “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that Day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; ³⁵ for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. ³⁶ But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, I sensed an urgency to warn to ‘Stay Ready.’ I am certain that Jesus is coming soon.  I am certain that the world is growing darker.  I am certain that we must guard our perception because perception becomes our reality.

When the disciples asked Jesus for signs to alert them to His coming and the end of the age, He told them the number one sign would be rampant deception.

We tend to think of deception externally, and that is real. However, the most dangerous and destructive deception is internal. Self-deception is not only dangerous but also deadly.

In verse 34, Jesus gave a powerful warning. “But watch out so your hearts are not weighed down by carousing, strong drink, and the worries of life. Do not let that Day come upon you suddenly like a trap.”

Some people deceive themselves into thinking that because they know Scripture, have had a past relationship with God, and enjoyed the working of the Holy Spirit, their present dive into drunkenness and sin is somehow permissible, or they will somehow be excused or drawn in at the last minute. That is a risk one dare not take. This could be the Day we stand before God.

I am praying for the LORD to do for each of us what He did for the disciples after the resurrection. Luke 24:45 – “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…”

Three things are vital:

• True Repentance.
• Persistent Prayer.
• Saturation of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ last words: “Wait until you are clothed, encompassed, saturated with power from on high.”

We must follow the cloud, resist evil, submit to God, and pray.   Do not be one whom the Day catches you unaware and unprepared.

LORD, help us to stay ready always!

Luke 16:15 – “And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, something stirred in me and made me think.   Numbers 5 tells an unusual story about jealousy and infidelity.   I think it is unfortunate that we focus on the natural and some on the seeming inequality in the story.  The woman, not a man, is being examined and judged.  Some cannot get past the natural and even wonder about the magic potion used.  That is to miss the message.

I see a treatise focusing on the power of words and covenant oaths or commitments.   This woman was asked to say certain things and then swear to their truthfulness.   The priest pronounced a curse for lying.  Breaking the oath (commitment) of the Covenant (marriage in this case) makes the curses immediately real.

The power of words is seen in the Aaronic Blessing of Numbers 6:22-27.  In Luke 16, the central message is faithfulness in responsibility and the importance of accountability. An interesting statement appears in verse 15: “God knows your heart.”    Self-justification flows out of self-deception. It does not impress God.

Each of us has been offered salvation and full deliverance in Jesus.   Our problem is that too often we follow the mentality of the Pharisee of Luke 18, “Thank God, I’m not like THEM.”   Our only legitimate comparison is Jesus, and none of us measure up.

The bottom line is choice. With Blessing comes responsibility and accountability.  Self-justification blinds us to the truth and binds us to our bondage. Honesty shines a light on us and exposes every blemish.

Stop saying, “I took a step back, but overall, I am making progress.” Yet, you keep going back to the bondage.  Why?   One reason is that it owns you; another is that you like its company.  Everything in life is rooted in choice!  If I continually revert to a bondage lifestyle, it is because I have rejected the victory Jesus offers and prefer to wallow in my mud hole of misery.  That is harsh, but it is reality.

“Whom the Son set free is FREE indeed.” (John 8:36).   No ambiguity there. No one steps forward and two back there.   No fallacious belief that I am getting better my way.  It is simply to give it to Jesus in total surrender, and He breaks the bondage.  It is choice, accountability, responsibility, and persistence.

Today, if there is any area of bondage in your life, place it on the altar to Jesus.  Do not justify it.  Do not excuse it.  Do not ignore it.  Do not compare it to others.  Admit it, confess it, repent of it, and receive your full deliverance! Then, with perseverance and accountability, replace the bondage with God’s precepts and promises.   Is that difficult? Usually, YES! But we are not doing this alone. But it begins with our choice!

LORD, help us never to be guilty of self-justification!

Luke 11:9-10 – “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, the words “persistence” and “perseverance” filled my thoughts.  How many times do we fail in the area of persistence and perseverance?  How many times are we inconsistent and give in to temptation?  How many times do we lament our situation and even adopt a victim mentality rather than standing firm and resisting the devil?  Once is too many!

I love the story in Luke 11, where Jesus illustrates persistent prayer.   We tend to read “Ask, seek, and knock” in a nonchalant manner. The context and the Greek debunk that attitude.

The idea, need, and benefit of persistence are impossible to miss. Then, Jesus said, “Ask, seek, and knock.”   The Greek is “Ask and keep on asking. Knock and keep on knocking. Seek and keep on seeking.”   Literally, yell out with extreme urgency, beat on the door persistently, and search almost frantically for the answer.

Some say that they want freedom from sin and ask casually for God’s help, then succumb.  They come back, almost justifying themselves or blaming external stimuli or God, and ask nonchalantly for help, then return to the mire.

No!  The answer must become a matter of life or death.   The urgency must be impossible to ignore.  Desire and determination must become all-consuming as you press into God’s presence.  Then the Holy Spirit, and even angelic help, comes. Then, deliverance comes.

In Luke 13:23, Jesus was asked, “Are only a few being saved?”   His answer says, “Although the invitation extends to everyone, FEW will find the door.” Prayer for ourselves or others must be fervent and prayed persistently with perseverance: no more flippant asking, but persistent pursuit of the answer.

James 5:16 – “The effective (fervent, persistent) prayer of a righteous person is powerful.” How important is the answer?  How serious are we about the deliverance?  How willing are we to admit our need, confess our sin, and pursue the answer (Jesus)?

God will answer the cries of persistent perseverance.   When we get serious, God responds.    That will not automatically remove consequences, but it will give a new start.

LORD, help us to persevere persistently!

2 Kings 13:18-19 – “Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. ¹⁹ The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I sensed two specific needs in me and the church.

• Spiritual Eyes that see beyond the natural.
• Urgency, unction, gumption, and function.

Complacency and nonchalance produce temporary victories, at best.   In 2 Kings 13, we have the account of King Joash coming to Elisha’s deathbed. The prophet gave him instructions (symbolic prophetic tasks).   He was a bit nonchalant and complacent in his response.  It infuriated the prophet, who had lived his life totally invested in God.

Effectual, fervent prayer avails much.   Persistent asking, seeking, and knocking get results.  It is the endurance to the end that gets the reward. It is the prepared that gain the victory.

If something (including lost souls) is not compelling enough to keep us awake and on our knees, we will not go All In with God.  No move of God has come without being preceded by Travail.  No deliverance in Israel until people became desperate.

Our focus cannot be us, except to right our lives and move into His presence.   2 Corinthians 6:17 screams of the need, not a requirement, to give God Everything. “Therefore, come out from among them, and be separate, says Adonai.” Separation, not isolation. Separation from practices, views, lifestyles, and defilement.

2 Corinthians 7:1 looks back at that plea and instructs, “let us cleanse ourselves from ALL defilement of body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

Do we truly believe and fear God?   Do we?   How do we live?   How do we think?   How do we conduct ourselves?  Does that reflect a genuine belief that Everything He says is true and demonstrate a true fear (awe) of Him?

If we are half-hearted, living as if we had endless days to get it right, and without genuine concern for our lives or the lost, that shouts that we do not! 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 reveal that personal commitment requires personal action.   God will not do for us what He tasked us to do. God will not arbitrarily take sin from us. He waits for us to act!

My actions testify to what I truly believe! Lord, open our spiritual eyes so we can see!