Victory is Found after Resoluteness
09/05/10 21:48
A
man’s home is supposed to be his castle! He
rules his domain in love and wisdom and protects it
with all the power that God grants him. Well, every
Spring, intruders from the south swarm into the
man’s territory seeking food and seeking
shelter. Fowls of the air swoop in to build their
nest in eaves, soffits and any other place they can
find; like atop the ladder that is hanging on the
wall at the back of my garage! I have this little
porch area where I keep my tractor and ladders out of
the weather and these little vermin think that they
can just move in building their nests anywhere they
please. Well, I showed them!
My tenacious spirit blocked every attempt of their ideas for making their home in my garage! Every morning for about a week, I would see new activity; grass, mud and twigs being collected and meticulously placed in what they thought was an inconspicuous place! But they don’t call me “Ol’ Eagle-eye Jimmy” for nothing. Especially when they fly right toward me trying to escape! Well, I just want you to know that those birds can be just as tenacious! We fought for two weeks and I have come out the victor! Yeah! Those birds probably tried thirty times, I have grass, sticks and mud all over the place. But today, my garage is nest free, and by the grace of God, (revealed through my resoluteness) it will be all summer.
Did you know that the grace of God is revealed in your fight against sin? Sin tries to build a little home in your heart like those birds tried to build a nest in my garage. Sin tries to over run your life like weeds try to over run your garden. Sin is always looking for a place to nestle in while being inconspicuous until it takes root and you realize that you’re trapped. Solomon tells us that sin won’t let go of the person that practices it. And then Hosea tells us that that very sin will not permit us to return to God. What an awful condition. The spiritual man is aware of his low position –Blessed are the poor in spirit- and his need for the grace of God in his life. But the grace I am referring to here is not the grace that most people are thinking of. You know what I mean; “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.” Too many only think of God’s grace in the area of forgiveness rather than strength for living. But Paul made it clear that it was the grace of God that was working in his life –and that grace was not without effect. He said that he had worked harder than all of those apostles, yet not him, but the grace of God that was in him. To Jesus Christ be the glory!
God’s grace gives us that discernment to know that sin is crouching at the doors of our hearts just waiting for that right moment to come in and make its home there. It is God’s grace that shows us the way in which to live and root the evil out and it’s God’s grace that empowers us to be resolute in our goal. Seeing how that it’s Mother’s Day, let me give an illustration of the tenacity of spirit that I am talking about.
Charles Swindoll tells of a good friend of his who was raised by a godly mother. “…that when she rocked him to sleep, she didn’t sing to him just little ditties and lullabies, she sang him the hymns of the faith. He remembers her singing hymns like, “A Mighty Fortress is our God”; “My Jesus, I Love Thee”; and “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” She sang the deep songs. And he says, “I remember. I remember those hymns. In fact,” he says, “when I went to church, I had heard and learned most of the hymns,” a contribution in that young man’s life that he’ll never forget.
In this day and age it’s all the more important to be resolute in keeping sin out of our lives and the lives of our loved ones. So, by the grace of God, be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand. And be tenacious!
Think about it,
Pastor Jim
My tenacious spirit blocked every attempt of their ideas for making their home in my garage! Every morning for about a week, I would see new activity; grass, mud and twigs being collected and meticulously placed in what they thought was an inconspicuous place! But they don’t call me “Ol’ Eagle-eye Jimmy” for nothing. Especially when they fly right toward me trying to escape! Well, I just want you to know that those birds can be just as tenacious! We fought for two weeks and I have come out the victor! Yeah! Those birds probably tried thirty times, I have grass, sticks and mud all over the place. But today, my garage is nest free, and by the grace of God, (revealed through my resoluteness) it will be all summer.
Did you know that the grace of God is revealed in your fight against sin? Sin tries to build a little home in your heart like those birds tried to build a nest in my garage. Sin tries to over run your life like weeds try to over run your garden. Sin is always looking for a place to nestle in while being inconspicuous until it takes root and you realize that you’re trapped. Solomon tells us that sin won’t let go of the person that practices it. And then Hosea tells us that that very sin will not permit us to return to God. What an awful condition. The spiritual man is aware of his low position –Blessed are the poor in spirit- and his need for the grace of God in his life. But the grace I am referring to here is not the grace that most people are thinking of. You know what I mean; “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.” Too many only think of God’s grace in the area of forgiveness rather than strength for living. But Paul made it clear that it was the grace of God that was working in his life –and that grace was not without effect. He said that he had worked harder than all of those apostles, yet not him, but the grace of God that was in him. To Jesus Christ be the glory!
God’s grace gives us that discernment to know that sin is crouching at the doors of our hearts just waiting for that right moment to come in and make its home there. It is God’s grace that shows us the way in which to live and root the evil out and it’s God’s grace that empowers us to be resolute in our goal. Seeing how that it’s Mother’s Day, let me give an illustration of the tenacity of spirit that I am talking about.
Charles Swindoll tells of a good friend of his who was raised by a godly mother. “…that when she rocked him to sleep, she didn’t sing to him just little ditties and lullabies, she sang him the hymns of the faith. He remembers her singing hymns like, “A Mighty Fortress is our God”; “My Jesus, I Love Thee”; and “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” She sang the deep songs. And he says, “I remember. I remember those hymns. In fact,” he says, “when I went to church, I had heard and learned most of the hymns,” a contribution in that young man’s life that he’ll never forget.
In this day and age it’s all the more important to be resolute in keeping sin out of our lives and the lives of our loved ones. So, by the grace of God, be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand. And be tenacious!
Think about it,
Pastor Jim
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