When faith starts walking

What is faith in action?

How do we take the things we believe to be true, and move into the realities we want to live in?

First of all, God tells us through His word that "...without faith it is impossible to 

please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe 

that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." (Hebrews 11:6 ESV)

So, the actions that follow faith cannot be adequately realized until faith is in place.

It's not enough to "want" to do good. Faith in God alone brings true repentance.

In fact, II Corinthians 7:10 tells us that "...the kind of sorrow 

God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. 

There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow,

 which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death." (NLT)

I've been thinking about the things in my life that I tend to place above God.

I was reading in Deuteronomy when Moses instructed the children of Israel to destroy idols in their lives...not to allow any part of it to remain...to smash...to burn.

Naturally, my mind went to my life in the modern world.  I know there must be idols that I place above God.  I asked Him to show me the things that I need to smash...to burn...to destroy.

One of the things He spoke to me about was my need to control.  So much of my life revolves around how I want things to go.  I want to have the say.  I want to decide.  I know best.

Whether that control exercises itself in how I want my day to go, or in what I decide to do with my time, or what I put in my body, I realize that I have a tendency towards personal dictatorship.

I want what I want, when I want it.

We don't often admit that.

We pretend that because the things we want are "acceptable," that it is okay.

But...

in a Christian's life, nothing is supposed to take a place of authority over God.

Nothing.

And, if I'm being honest, there are things that threaten His place as Boss every day.

You may have similar experiences.

You have given Him your life.  You have asked Him to be the Lord of everything.

 You want Him more than anything... 

And, somewhere between the wanting and the doing, you find yourself succumbing to the element of control in your life.  You find yourself making excuses for your lack of self-control.

You tell yourself the lie that you can work on that problem tomorrow.

You lie to yourself.

I do too.

Wouldn't you know that a day after God spoke to my heart out of the Book of Deuteronomy, He also spoke to me through the Sunday church service!

We sang this song...

We bow our Hearts

We bend our knees

Oh Spirit come make us humble

We turn our eyes from evil things

Oh Lord we cast down our idols

So give us clean hands

Give us pure hearts

Let us not lift our souls to another

Give us clean hands

Give us pure hearts

Let us not lift our souls to another

And God let us be

A generation that seeks

That seeks your face

Oh God of Jacob

When our Pastor started speaking, conviction flooded my heart and mind once again.

He talked about the need to "clean house..." Asking God to remove 

any of the "respectable sins" that might be residing in our life.

Ouch.

All weekend I've been thinking about what that is in my life.

I don't want to allow anything (no matter how small) to have first place in my heart.

And, control...the need to control is the thing that keeps inching up to first place.

Our Pastor suggested that we go home and write down the thing that God is speaking to us about. I knew as soon as he said it what my subject matter would be.  I knew what I would be asking God to change in me.

The need to control.

But, aren't we supposed to control?

Doesn't the Bible instruct us to have self-control?

Yes it does.  

Read this passage from II Peter 1

 "To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, 

by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of 

God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has 

granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, 

through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own 

glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His 

precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may 

become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption 

that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, 

applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, 

and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge,

 self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, 

and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, 

and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours 

and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful 

in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities

 is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 

Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about 

His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, 

you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom 

of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you."

It's there.

I'm fine.

Control is needed.

Yes it is...

...I just need to have the right control.

Self control is "restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires."

I've got that down when it comes to "normal sins." You know, the ones everyone says you should stay away from.  The biggies like adultery, lying, stealing, murder.  Yeah... I'm self-controlled. 

But, am I self-controlled in the more acceptable sins?

Do I have a tendency towards gossip (self-control over my tongue)

Do I spend my time and money wisely?

Do I focus on myself and my desires more than the desires of God?

Do I have a tendency towards selfishness?

Towards pride?

Is there anything in my life that means more to me than time with God?

If we break down some of the words in that passage, we can 

get an idea of how to live an abundant, victorious life.

Diligence - "persevering application"

Faith - "allegiance to duty or a person :  loyalty" also, "strong belief or trust in someone or something"

Moral Excellence - "conforming to a standard of right behavior" "greatness, superbness"

Knowledge - "information, understanding, or skill that you get from experience or education"

 "awareness of something : the state of being aware of something"

Self-control - " restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires"

Perseverance - " continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition - the action or condition or an instance of persevering :  steadfastness"

Godliness - "believing in God and in the importance of living a moral life"

Brotherly Kindness - Synonyms...benevolence, courtesy, grace, indulgence, favor, mercy, service

Love - "unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another" "the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration"

It is kind of like a path...

Faith...Moral Excellence...Knowledge...Self-control...

Perseverance...Godliness...Brotherly Kindness...Love

Faith leads to morality...power through the Spirit of God...Then, we must arm ourselves with the knowledge of God's Word... and ask Him what areas in our lives need self-control. Then, through perseverance (a continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties) we press on to Godliness...are able to live a life of brotherly kindness, and show true love to those around us.

When I know the areas that I tend to put above God, I can search for good ways to keep myself accountable.  I can set up good parameters...boundaries...etc.

If I know the things that steal my time and affection,

I can limit those things.

There are many things that are not wrong, when used in moderation.

Most of the time, we are very much aware of what it is that steals our affection from God.

We aren't usually walking in ignorance, but rather we are walking in disobedience.

May we fall on our faces before God, and ask Him to cleanse us from all unrighteousness... especially those areas where it seems okay to fudge a little.

Areas like:
 Time management.
Idolizing our families over God.
What we put in our bodies.
What we say to other people.
What we spend time thinking about.


“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

There is only ONE thing - ONE priority that should always be first in our hearts.

We know what it is.

Now, let's live it out.


"Father, I ask right now that you would fill us with your power and strength to follow you in the way you ask to be followed.  May we walk in your paths...the straight paths, all the days of our lives.  May we never allow anything to come before you and your rightful place in our lives.  And, if we become aware that we are allowing other "gods" to form in our lives, may we repent of this sin, and look to you for the strength to be victorious in those areas. Amen."