Submit and Resist

Continuation of: Hearing God... Defeating Doubt 
Monday 11/07/2011

COME:
James 4
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

HEAR:
So often we don't submit to God or resist the devil. We placate... we call sin: My Problem, My Issue, My Struggle, My This, My That...

Well first of all, we own and associate with the sin by calling it "MY" anything. Rather than acknowledge a stray thought as a seed of the devil to cause you to enter into sin, we acknowledge the thought as "OURS" and then call it "MY STRUGGLE". By doing this we lay claim to something that wasn't ours to begin with. Thoughts do not indicate sin. Thoughts are thoughts. We are to take our thoughts captive and bring them into submission to the Anointing of the Anointed One. Thoughts that turn to pondering and purposeful imagination, that is a different matter. Jesus said that anyone who looked... in order to... sinned in their heart. Any thoughts that turn into intent to think are a sin when they think on things that are not of God. But that is the point here. People allow themselves to fall victim to this by thinking that the first thoughts are sin. By doing this they then give in to the other thoughts because they feel they've already sinned. 

So often people don't live in victory over things because they feel that because a thought passed through their mind, it must be theirs, and therefore they sinned. They then feel guilty. Thus they pull away from God. Thus they become more isolated. I've gone through that struggle more than once over the years. I am reminded yet again today that thoughts are subject to my will through the Word of God. I am not subject to my thoughts. Defeat, lack, sin, fear... they have no place in me.

I believe it was Kenneth Hagin who said: "You cannot prevent birds from flying over head, but you can prevent them from making a nest in your hair."

So it is with thoughts. You cannot prevent every stray thought from crossing your mind. There are seeds of sin everywhere you look and live. Even in a monastery there are thoughts creeping in hallways. Ask the catholic church how that's been going for them in the media the past few years.

Kenneth Copeland has said: "If you sin, run to God not away from Him. Your sin is non of the devils business." Jesus paid to clear you of that mess. Come to Him, get clean, and walk away free!"

Submit to God and resist the devil. You cannot resist the devil and he will not flee until you have fully submitted to God. That may be big on big things like not doing or watching certain activities. Or it may be in small things. Like going to bed on time, so that you are rested, less irritable, and better prepared to listen and heed the Holy Spirit.

In James 1-3 we saw that being double minded creates instability. Here again we see this phrase. Don't be double minded. How does one purify their hearts? What does that mean? We can see that a pure heart is not a double minded heart. So doubt is an indication of an impure heart. What is the solution to Doubt, Double Minded, and Impure Heart?

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Drawing near to God. Not just reading His Words, while half asleep to check that activity off your list. Pray, meditate, ponder, study, speak to God in His Unknown Tongue... then give Him time to bring the interpretation to your mind and heart. Some interpretations may come instantly, some may take days, weeks, years... Pray in the Spirit and allow God to lead. As you do HE will search the deep places of your hearts and clean out the dark corners. Deep calls out to deep. (See Study).

Jeremiah 29:13 NKJVAnd you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Psalm 139:23 NKJVSearch me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;

By spending time in God's Presence you become like Him. It's automatic. You don't have to try. Being with anyone makes you more like them. Married couples find this to be true. After many years they can anticipate the other persons thoughts or actions. They are familiar with them. They are two personalities but they are one. Become One with God the Father. Jesus asked for this in his prayer over you.

My two boys often do things just like I do. Why? Is it JUST the time I spend with them? No. They are paying attention to me. Watching me intently. They mean to be like me. They purpose to do so. They want to imitate me.
DO:
Watch and pray... what does that mean... watch out for the bad guys that are coming? That's not quite it. Watch the Father. Do what he does. Say what He says. Hear Him. Watch Him. Observe Him. Get His heart on life. Get His perspective on things. Spend time with your Father. Become just like Him. 


PRAYER:
Father... help me to remember to spend more time with you in prayer and conversation. Not just in the morning or at night, but through constant communication, driving, during periods of mental break, while talking with others. I want to not anticipate my response while talking but rather hear YOUR response instead.
Darrell G. Wolfe