Hello friends! I'm sorry it's been a while since I made a post. Life has been a little crazy for the Honnell household, as our only daughter just got married! We have been blessed with a wonderful son-in-law, and we are thrilled to have him and his entire family join ours! After the wedding and after everyone went back home, it was time to get things back in order. While working, I listened on YouTube to Elijah Streams as I often do. Steve had Robin Bullock on his program and they were discussing how guilt is a tool the Devil will use to steal from you. It really struck me and after praying as to what I should write about today, I felt God's prompting me to share this bit with you.
"One of the biggest things that he (Satan) has is guilt. He try's to put on God's people guilt. Guilt will rob you, and the number one thing it takes away from you is your perception. You can't perceive what God is doing, what he wants to do, what he wants to do with you, what he is doing around you. Because your in guilt, and your focused on some past failure that you've done. And it just zeros our vision in until you have no spiritual perception. Now your void of revelation, you can't receive a revelation from God. You can't live by every word that's coming out of his mouth, because all our pondering on is everything you failed at. And so he keeps on laying that on the people, laying it on the people. And guilt is fear based. Everything the enemy does is fear based...and your afraid that your either going to mess up, have messed up, God has abandoned you, he won't forgive you, or something. And he heaps this on God's people until they can't see a path forward, and so what you've done is when you allow him to lay this guilt, and lay this guilt, it finally get's to the place where you've opened yourself up for an attack where he could possibly even take your life in it. Because you have to remember something...when the Devil attacks someone he's not attacking them to hurt them....Christians get in the ring with the Devil thinking their going to fight. And they say, "Oh I've been fighting with the Devil", we write songs about fighting with the Devil...the Devil isn't getting in the arena with you to fight you, he's getting in the ring with you to KILL you! But Christians are getting in there to fight, and their opponent is getting in there to kill. Well there's a big difference! If you took two boxers and you put them in a ring, and one of them has the idea "We're going to fight", and the other one has the idea, "I'm going to KILL this guy", and he has murder in his heart to kill him, there's no contest now. And so Christians are getting in the arena with the Devil, "I'm going to fight him, I'll just fight this and that...and he's in there saying, "I'm going to KILL them as fast as I can". So in order to kill you he has to steal something from you, because he came to kill, to steal and to destroy. So he steals something. He comes to steal the Word of God out of your heart. He steals hope from you. He steals your desire to serve God and to move in the things of the Spirit. And he does a lot of this by bringing guilt on you from something you have done wrong, and you can't shake it. Because as soon as he can bring the guilt on you he will set it up and cause it, and then he will tell you, "If you were really what you say you are, you would have never said that, or done that, or you wouldn't have been in that situation." And so the next thing you know, your like this...(Puts his head down in shame), and the more it goes on the more you feel bad. And the more you feel bad, all your perception of the Spirit world has been dimmed...it's gone. That's the way he hit Adam. As soon as Adam sinned, he hid himself because he was afraid. He was guilty, and he couldn't see any goodness of God. He was afraid. So men, when their countenance starts to fall, they start to get down. And now while their countenance is down, don't think the Devil will miss this opportunity. He will come immediately and start setting up something to kill you with it. He's not trying to hurt you, he's trying to kill you....he could get you in the middle of a situation that your not even supposed to be in. But your so brow beat, as we say, that you can't see. You have no spiritual perception. And so if Christians could grasp that. You have something out of John 1:9-it says this "If we confess our sin, he is FAITHFUL and he is JUST to forgive us of our sin, and to cleanse us from all the unrighteousness that is connected to that sin." So when you go to God and you say, "Lord, I did this and I did that, forgive me, I confess it before you." That's not when he found out about it...that's when you get forgiven of it. And so then you confess it, you spewed it out of your mouth, it's left your spirit, it's come our of your being, and now God will take that and wipe that away, cleanse you as if you have never done anything wrong. And what you have to do next is this...if you truly repented of that, stand up on your feet, square our shoulders back, and say, I'm forgiven, he's forgiven me, I'm clean, and I'm going to walk the rest of this day as if I have never done that at all, and I'm going to refuse to let my mind think on it." -Robin Bullock, Episode 24 on the Intelligence Briefing with Robin and Steve-YouTube
There was much more to the program, but that part really struck me. The Bible says that the Devil is the father of the lie. Speaking of Satan, John 8:44 says- "...for he is a liar and the father of it." He doesn't want us to believe or feel that we can be forgiven and reconciled back to God. He wants us to be deceived into believing that our sins aren't forgivable, because if he can get us to believe this he can keep us from drawing close to God.
If we have a sin that haunts us, and we believe in our heart that it's too bad of a sin, surely God would never forgive that sin...then its really like saying that God gave his only begotten Son to cover the sins of the world...but just not our particular sin. In a way, that's like saying our sin us unique, and Christ's payment is inadequate. How far from the truth that is! Acts 2:21 says, "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." God also had recorded in his word, these words, found in 1 John 1:9-" If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
Take a moment and think of all the different men and women in the Bible that had sinned serious sins, but who were forgiven. Think of the story of King David and Bathsheba. Adultery, deception and murder were serious sins he committed, and yet after being remorseful, and repentant, God forgave him. Think of the Apostle Paul who before becoming a apostle, his name was Saul. He murdered, harassed, and persecuted Christians. Yet God forgave him, and he became one of the Apostles. One of the 12 Disciples, Peter, denied Jesus 3 times, and Jesus even had to rebuke him...yet he forgave him. Rahab the prostitute had a sketchy background yet she was used by God and is listed in Jesus lineage. Even Mary Magdalene repented of her prostitution and became one of Christs disciples.
The Bible is full of people who committed really bad sins, and through God's amazing love and grace, they were totally and completely forgiven. Despite what Satan would love for us to believe, there is absolutely NOTHING that can separate us from God's love...NOTHING! Romans 8:38-39 says, "For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." How awesome and absolutely incredible is our God!! How loving, forgiving and merciful is he!!
We have to remember, we're ALL imperfect. Unfortunately, we all sin...everyday. Whether we do, think, say or feel things we shouldn't...we all sin. Jesus didn't come to this earth to die for perfect people. He came here to die for imperfect people...for sinners. Romans 3:23 says, " For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." It's when we acknowledge, and confess our sins to God, that we find forgiveness. Oh the joy in the heavens when we do that! Luke 15:7 says, " I tell you that there in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." Over and over God has shown us in his word of those who have sinned horrible sins against God, but who were redeemed and used mightily by him!
So if you, or someone you know has had a blockage with their relationship with God over a past sin, take heart!! Be encouraged that we can have victory over sin!! 1 Corinthians 15:57 says, " But thank God! He gives victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ."
I hope this post encourages you go to your heavenly Father in prayer, confess your sins, and be confident in his loving mercy, and desire to forgive you. God is the very essence of the word love! He loves us enough to ask his only son to die for us. There is no greater love than that! And through that great sacrifice, we can be confident our sins are indeed forgiven!!
Blessings & Joy!
Lisa
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