GET TOGETHER- POINT TO HIM NOT AT THEM

GET TOGETHER- POINT TO HIM NOT AT THEM

Isa 58:9 “Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness.”
This morning I had posted the following passage Joh 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” I also had a prayer for myself and others that you can read in my previous post. Well, that prayer was certainly being answered as the Holy Spirit was restraining me and allowing me to speak only words of life and I believe words that were guided by the Holy Spirit that indwells me and all Christians. And then I had to say something from my flesh that I am not sure if it was true, or not concerning something in our culture. The Holy Spirit quickly brought me to a place of repentance, and I asked the Lord to forgive me and to help me not to do that again.
As a person that believes that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way that a person can live eternally. And as a person that believes that life begins at conception. And as a person that believes that marriage is between one woman and one man, I realize that those beliefs are in contrast with much of the culture in our nation at the present time.
On the other hand, as a person who is praying for a Holy Spirit awakening in our nation, I also realize that Jesus Christ is who we look to as a model for how we are to live in a hostile culture. We must remember as the Apostle Paul tells us in Eph 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We don’t want to let the enemy draw us into fleshly arguments, or in our anger about something in our culture cause us to respond in the way that the world responds.
Jesus spoke the truth. But He spoke the truth in love. Jesus was full of grace. And Jesus was also full of truth. Here is a passage that I at one time prayed over myself regularly and I think that now is a good time for me to start praying that passage again: Eph 4:31,32 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. (NKJV) James had this to say about the tongue: Jas 3:8,9 “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Men and women naturally cannot tame our tongues. But Praise God that the Holy Spirit can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
Not to long ago I was reading Foxe’s Book of Martyr’s. There are accounts of Christians who were martyred for the faith during Reformation era England. They were burned at the stake. They spoke the truth. On the other hand, they did not let unwholesome talk come out of their mouths even while they were being burned at the stake.
I also think about the Apostle Paul as he stood before King Agrippa who was a very wicked man. Paul didn’t trash talk him, or call him a scum bag, or any other disrespectful name. He simply shared his testimony and offered him Christ. Ac 26:27-29: “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.” Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”
At one time there was a fellow Pastor in our city that had been in ministry for many years. Here is a nugget that he shared with me. He told me “Preston don’t try to beat them but try to win them.” When we do that, the Holy Spirit will work in ways that our fleshly acts such as finger pointing won’t

So, I pray for all of us that we will not be suckered into finger pointing and malicious talk. Those are weapons of the enemy. Our weapons are of a different kind as the Apostle Paul tells us in 2Co 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” (NKJV) When we are to speak we are to speak the truth in love. I pray that our words will be Spirit and that they will be life. I am thankful to God for the Holy Spirit correcting me this morning. And I am thankful for the Blood of Jesus, and I know that I am forgiven. As I have said before the Blood of Jesus positions us, and the Holy Spirit conditions us. May we use our fingers not to point at others. But to point others to Jesus Christ.

Let Us Pray
Lord today we live in a hostile culture. Help us to love without compromise. Help us not to point the finger in a condemning way, but point people to You the one that can forgive us of our sins and to help us to live a life that brings glory to Your Name

In Jesus Name
Amen

Love You All
Your Friend/ Kinfolk
Preston

PS For those in Northwest Alabama our Broadcast Redeeming the Time comes on at 9:30 A.M. AND 9:30 P.M. on Sunday morning and Sunday night. That is on Spectrum Channel 10. In Jasper, it is on TV 16.