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Tuesday, January
13, 2009
Homeward Bound
Matthew 16:16-19 And Simon Peter answered
and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. (17) And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (18)
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (19) And
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou
shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (KJV)
Our Lord came so that we would have life
and have it more abundantly. The keys of the kingdom are Spiritual, unlocking
the gates of hell that held us prisoner, and opening a door of opportunity
for those in Christ to partake of all the Spiritual blessings that are
available in Him. It is upon this rock solid foundation, the revelation of
Christ, which opens the eyes of your understanding and allows you to see
and operate in this new life.
Romans 8:13-15 For if ye live after the
flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of
the body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God. (15) For ye have not received the spirit of
bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby
we cry, Abba, Father. (KJV)
You know, there is a four letter word
that should no longer be a part of a Christian’s vocabulary, fear. The
reason people are in fear, and the reason you were in that realm in the
past, is because you were operating according to the flesh, that carnal
mind of yours that is enmity with God. Now that you have come to know God
and are known of Him, the enemy would like nothing better than to see God’s
people put back under arrest and thrown back into their spiritual jail, a
spirit of bondage that you had been set free from. Jesus Christ provided us
a ‘get out of jail’ quick card, which He signed in His blood with His name,
and now it is up to each and every believer to stay in His realm and not be
pulled back and imprisoned again in the flesh.
Hebrews 2:14-15 Forasmuch then as the
children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took
part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the
power of death, that is, the devil; (15) And deliver them who through fear
of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (KJV)
We talked about the word ‘fear’; the Bible
says that fear has torment, which we have all experienced at times before
we knew the Lord, and sometimes we still do when we enter that realm; you
know, like when you entertain the worst case scenarios? This fear is also a
result of not knowing for sure where one would end up if this was their
last day on earth, then having to stand before God seeking entrance into
His eternal realm. We see the term ‘might’ used in verse 14, so either this
works or it doesn’t, right?
1 John 3:8-9 He that committeth sin is of
the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the
Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (9)
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in
him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. (KJV)
You know, once you have been set free it
is vital that you stay that way; you know, like being on probation? The
accuser of the brethren is looking for something to stick on the Christians
so that he can have them put back in bondage again. The purpose of the Son
of God, the revelation of Christ and the power of His name, is so that you
would allow Him to have His way in your life, being led and influenced by
His Spirit. The Lord did a complete work on our behalf and paid the price
for our sin, walking in victory and destroying the works of the devil. The
question is, how many are willing and obedient in walking after the same
example so that they will allow the Lord to destroy the works and influence
of the devil in their own lives?
Luke 16:13-14 No servant can serve two
masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he
will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and
mammon. (14) And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these
things: and they derided him. (KJV)
Strong’s definition for ‘serve’:
1398
douleuo (dool-yoo'-o); from 1401; to be a slave to (literal or
figurative, involuntary or voluntary): KJV-- be in bondage, (do) serve
(-ice).
According to the Word nothing will get a
person bound up quicker and imprisoned in the things of this life than
trying to serve two masters. In fact the Word is quite clear to point out
that the love of money is the root cause of all evil. It’s hard to run a
race when you are shackled to a big heavy ball like we see depicted with
prisoners. Even though they think they can escape, it won’t be long before
they are weighted down and unable to be set free. People literally get
themselves tied up in knots with the cares of this world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, as well as lusting after other things that choke
the Word and bring them back into the bondage of this world and the
uncertainty of this realm. Remember the Bible says the double minded man is
unstable in all his ways and unable to receive the things of God. So
basically if one is living in fear, it did not come from God, but rather
you allowed that spirit back into your life because you chose to go back to
the fallen realm it came from in the first place.
2 Peter 2:18-19 For when they speak great
swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh,
through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live
in error. (19) While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants
of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in
bondage. (KJV)
Williams New Testament translation
of 2 Peter 2:18-19
18. For by uttering arrogant nonsense,
through base desires of the lower nature, they entice into immorality men
who are just escaping from those who live in error, 19. promising them
freedom, though they are slaves of destruction themselves; for a man is the
slave of anything that conquers him.
Watch out Church on your way home because
the enemy has many vain talkers out there, who are willing to present
another version or I should say perversion, of the gospel. It is the
doctrine of Christ that will set you free, and only Christ that can keep
you free indeed. That thing that you have been entertaining in your mind,
something you know just isn’t right, needs to be discarded or it will
enslave you again, bringing you back into bondage.
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