…strive to have a conscience
without offense toward God and men. —Acts 24:16
“God’s commands to us are
actually given to the life of His Son in us. Consequently, to our human nature
in which God’s Son has been formed (see Galatians 4:19), His commands are
difficult. […] Conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the
highest standard I know, and then continually reminds me of what that standard
demands that I do. […] If I am in the habit of continually holding God’s
standard in front of me, my conscience will always direct me to God’s perfect
law and indicate what I should do. The question is, will I obey? […] God always instructs us down
to the last detail. Is my ear sensitive enough to hear even the softest whisper
of the Spirit, so that I know what I should do? “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit
of God…” (Ephesians 4:30). He does not speak with a voice like thunder— His
voice is so gentle that it is easy for us to ignore. And the only thing that
keeps our conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the
inside.” CHAMBERS
In the study, Experiencing
God, Dr. Blackaby makes the point that our problem is not that we don’t hear God,
but that we choose not to obey God. God
does not speak to our flesh and ask that we do something that we cannot possibly
do. It is a fact that obedience without
the Spirit is impossible. But disobedience in spite of the Spirit is very
possible. Can I get an “Amen”? If you lack spiritual understanding, you will go through life trying to do the “right”
thing, i.e. obey God, in the power of your flesh. The fact is, it’s just as impossible as it
was before you were born again. On the
one hand we acknowledge our new birth and our need for the power of the Spirit
to live it, and on the other, we deny the Spirit and attempt to live our new
life on our own. It makes no sense, but
that does not stop us from trying … and failing. God did not create us to be independent from
Him, but to be one with Him. Jesus prayed (John
17:20-23) “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will
believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just
as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may
believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me,
that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be
brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have
loved them even as you have loved me.”
Does that sound like God
wants us to be Lone Ranger Christians? The
word “father” means source. God is the Source. Frederick Taylor is known as the father of
Scientific Management. He fathered, he
is the originator and source of that concept. God, the Father, is the creator
and sustainer. He knew that we could not
live our new life on our own, so He sealed us with the Holy Spirit making it
possible to live in obedience to His will.
Our part is to exercise faith and be willing to obey. To submit to the leading of the Spirit,
understanding that living this new life of ours is “not by power, nor by strength,
but by the Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6) Unfortunately,
all too often, we forget that and fall into the trap of trying to be, on our
own, what we cannot be on our own, pleasing to the Father. We fail and rather than repent and seek Him
out, we pretend and hope that no one will find us out. Sounds crazy when you read it, doesn’t
it. But this pattern is all too common. My point this morning is to encourage you to
consider your ways. Make a course
correction if it is called for.
Encourage others to do the same. Our new life in Christ is too good to
miss. CHARLEY
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