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Friday, May 9,
2008
Bound
and Determined
Matthew 18:18 Verily I say
unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (KJV)
All this week we have
discussed personal responsibility with the Lord; you desire and request a
response from the Lord concerning your petitions, the Lord requests things
in return from you as well. The words of a believer should be spirit and should
be bringing forth life; while words of a non believer will keep them in
bondage, bound by sin and unbelief. One of the areas that many seek the
Lord in is the area of forgiveness, asking the Lord to pardon their
transgression and set them free from that bondage. One of the things the
Lord requests in return is that you also forgive others, loosing yourself
from grudges, a root of bitterness that not only defiles you, but many
times by your words those around you are getting rained on with your bitter
water also. Your forgiveness is a two-way street; so if you truly wish to
receive forgiveness from the Father then it is something you need to be
willing to do yourself, forgiving others that have trespassed against you.
Matthew 6:12-15 And forgive
us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (13) And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (14) For if ye forgive men their
trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: (15) But if ye
forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses. (KJV)
Do you feel weighed down at
times and sense you are not moving forward in your walk with the Lord? Does
it seem like you are being harassed by things from your past, something you
just can’t seem to shake? When you have sinned and fallen short, are you as
forgiving to others as you desire your heavenly Father to be with you? We
basically have a contingency contract with our Father, with what measure
you put out is measured back to you; or as some point out these days, what
goes around comes around. So the question now is, are you just going for a
ride on the not so merry go round, where it seems you end up in the same
place and not able to move forward? Your willingness to forgive others can
loose you from this bondage and set you free from these petty grudges you
have been bound and determined to hang onto.
Hebrews 12:1-3 Wherefore
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let
us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and
let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (2) Looking unto
Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the
right hand of the throne of God. (3) For consider him that endured such
contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in
your minds. (KJV)
The cloud of witnesses that
we are surrounded with is raining down on us in the form of living waters,
examples we have in the Bible of those that learned to be overcomers
despite the contradiction and shame. How many of these people would have
accomplished what the Lord was asking of them if all they did was fight and
argue with worldly people and try to find ways to get even? How far do you
think you will progress in your walk if you keep this same mindset? Simply
put, by holding grudges you are in essence in a holding pattern yourself
until you are ready to let go of these things from the heart so that you
can return to the path of life and run the course the Lord desires for you.
Let us truly consider someone that endured contradiction, and Lord willing
it will ease your wearied mind.
Luke 23:33-34 And when they
were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him,
and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. (34)
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And
they parted his raiment, and cast lots. (KJV)
Have you been nailed to a
cross and left for dead, this after being beaten and bloodied? Have you been
humiliated by a group of people that despised the message of love and hope
you were bringing to a fallen dead world? Oh you may be acting like you
have been; and these grudges you have been holding onto, do they even begin
to compare to what our Lord endured? For those that have or are overweight
physically, we all know what a burden it is to carry things around that are
unwanted and unhealthy. The more we pack on the more it slows us down and
can eventually lead to death if left unchecked. The reason many end up
overweight is because they did not closely monitor what they were eating
but allowed some unhealthy habits and foods into the temple. Spiritually
this is what happens when we hold onto things and allow bitterness into the
heart, it is like junk food that clogs the arteries and can stop one in
their tracks. Take out the garbage people, and leave it in the dump. Rightly
dividing the word of truth so that you can discard the excess spiritual
weight that easily besets or harasses you, and run the endurance race that
leads to an eternal life with our Father.
1 Corinthians 9:25-27 And
every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now
they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. (26) I
therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth
the air: (27) But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest
that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a
castaway. (KJV)
Have you ever seen boxers? Those
that are good at their profession are the ones that are well trained and in
good shape so that they can go the distance. Those that are not trained, or
haven’t properly prepared themselves, don’t make in this profession but end
up on their backside. Fighters that are overweight have distinct
disadvantage as well, because they will easily tire out and not be able to
go the distance. One of the things that will tire a boxer out quickly is
swinging and missing into the air, not hitting the target but expelling a
lot of energy with no positive results. The same holds true when one
listens to the prince of the power of the air, swinging at imaginary
targets in our mind and bogged down by bitterness and grudges of things
from our past. So what are you meditating on today, right now? Are you in
the Lord’s ring being trained up in the things that are based on truth or
are you shadow boxing in the imaginary realm of the enemy?
Psalms 19:12-14 Who can
understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. (13) Keep back
thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over
me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great
transgression. (14) Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my
heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. (KJV)
Some of the secret faults
that keep a Christian in bondage at times come in the form of forgiveness,
or their unwillingness to forgive others. Although it may not be always
apparent to the outward man, the Lord sees the inward motive and will not
grant forgiveness our way until we are willing to forgive others. Remember
if you allow these things to overcome you then you are brought in bondage
to them until you are willing to loose them and let them go. So in order to
receive forgiveness you need to be willing to give it; like the word of God
says, give and it shall be given.
1 John 1:6-9 If we say that
we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the
truth: (7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin. (8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. (KJV)
The darkness the devil wants
you to walk in can manifest itself in the form of bitterness, your unwillingness
to forgive and forget. It’s when we choose to walk in light that the
fellowship is restored again and this root can be pulled out and discarded.
Your stubbornness, pity parties, root of bitterness have kept you bound in
the realm of the flesh rather than being loosed so that you can stand fast
in the liberty in Christ and not entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Today
instead of being bound and determined, allow yourself to be loosed in
Christ and determined to walk in the liberty and light He has for you.
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