Presented at 13th Street Church of God, LaFollette, TN
Enjoy the video!
Sermon Notes: https://www.heartofgraceministries.com/blog/after-the-fact/stop-living-denial-face-issues-christ/
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home1/heartof6/public_html/blog/wp-content/themes/responsive-mobile/includes/functions-extentions.php on line 35
denial
Stop Living In Denial And Face The Issues Through Christ
2 Timothy 3:1-5
3 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
We realize that in these words that it opens a window of what should help us strive to be stable in our faith. The enemy is working through people and situations that strain our spirit. What I am afraid of more than anything is that one day we will think we have the power to overcome anything but from our denial of sins and temptations that we will be no better than our enemy.
Sadly, we church members do not sufficiently realize the extreme subtlety of our heart’s disease. Denial does not come at us loudly proclaiming to be our deadly enemy, saying, “You are a bold faced liar and you are going to burn in the Lake of Fire!” It comes like Judas, with a kiss, and like Joab, with his hand extended in friendship and his tongue uttering flattering words.
- “It’s okay to do this”
- “They can’t judge you”
- “Why should you care what anyone thinks, you should be happy”
- “It’s their fault you’re in this predicament so it’s OK to do what you want”
- “You don’t have to repent, they are just hypocrites themselves”
- “God loves you and it’s okay to stumble from time to time, even when you know better.”
- “My pastor told me it was okay”
- “It’s not like anyone sees me”
- “It’s not like it’s on facebook”
Amos 8:11-12
11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
We are facing an ever constant battle of spiritual warfare. The enemy seeks to steal your mind and rob any imagination that would lead you to have a constant lifestyle aligned in God’s will. As we allow these fiery darts to prevail in our thought process we see that we begin to lose our spiritual vision (faith). And as our spiritual vision goes we begin to try and listen for anything that will let us continue as we are and reject any notions from God that take us towards a faith that leads us blindly through our trials.
This prolonged rejection of the word leads to a cold bitter heart that has little or no acceptance to God’s word, prophecy, encouragement or exhortation.
How do we overcome denying our faults?
1) The Worship of God and Christ will empower the Holy Ghost inside of you. The Holy Ghost will teach you and align you to the truth of God’s word and purpose, thus making you free
John 8:28-32
28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
2) Walk in the counsel of God’s word through preaching, teaching, encouragement and what you receive in prayer/prophesy. And as you continue to walk in this way you are blessed from God being pleased with your living example
Psalm 1:1-3
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
3) Examine your life daily. If the doctor tells you to examine yourself and to take care of yourself to live long…then chances are when we perform our spiritual checkups that we can deal with things and rid them in the earlier stages rather than waiting until we are in denial!
2 Corinthians 13:5
5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Repenting To God: Outdated And Replaced? No Way!
If there was anything that I could ever be sure of that I know, it is to recognize God’s voice when it begins to speak into my life. There are going to be so many moments when it will speak words of encouragement when we are down. And as I am sure that when the time calls for it that we are all so thankful for the moments that God comes through. The moments that I want to talk about today though are the ones that seem to be the times that we sweep under the rug, never talk about, or stay in denial over. So go ahead and brace yourself for it, because here comes our old friend reality, which says: there are also other moments when God will direct us to repent or turn from what it is that is trying to pull us away from God.
I know this seems silly when you read me writing this, but consider the illustration of praise and worship. Praise and worship is assuming we are in a place of thankfulness and are able to get past everything in our heart and are light enough to be in a spirit of praise, right? In church services you can get millions to operate in praise and worship because we are sometimes praising God for things to come, right? The funny thing to me as a minister is when it comes to the art of repenting and being humble that you seldom find roughly 1-5 percent of your participants willing to do praise and worship AND be driven to repent.
What is up with that? It has been observed from my point of view that lately repenting to God has become somewhat unnecessary and outdated. Friends, asking God for the forgiveness of the mistakes you made is not only in style but necessary for the keeping of your mind and life each and every day! Please do not misplace this with the ideal that we can just replace asking forgiveness with just only being thankful. We must remember to have moments where we are humbled and acknowledge that we are human and that God is God! Stay in style and sanctify yourself through prayer today!
Take The Time To Take Your Time
No matter the situation it seems we are in, there is always the part of us that is demonstrated in the moment: the need to love or care for others on demand. I admit first and foremost that at times it is hard to do, or even feels impossible as emotionally affected as we can get. Let me share some quick tips with you that has been inspired by God and the wisdom of some great elders to me.
1) If someone takes the time to have a conversation about you or something that concerns you, make sure you take the time to return the favor by doing likewise (or indicating why you can’t). We should always be subject to one another and do unto others as we would have them do unto us! Doing so demonstrates a love for people which in turn demonstrates love for God and beyond yourself. It’s very key to note that it’s in the very small things you do in your every day life that will demonstrate the power of your ministry.
2) Take time to help those who cannot help you. It is so easy just to either deny people simply by the right of judgement or denial that they really “don’t need me to care”. What we neglect to realize is how much of a difference being charitable can be. Remember to help those who cannot repay, for this truly shows the kind of love that Jesus gave to us when he gave His life for us!
3) Finally, the time we have to live is a gift from God, so do not waste it! Live in love and live for loving others! Make time for God each and every day not only in prayer but in acts of love and kindness towards others. Beyond that, have a heart that will show that driven love and kindness beyond what would try to drag you down!
Use God’s time to build yourself up as well as the lives of others!
Put Denial In Its Place
Matthew 10:32-33 – Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
– – – –
Denial does exist and is prevalent in the everyday lives of everyone. I could not be more blown away when you consider that the average person will live in denial of at least two or three different things consecutively at a given time. I am not here to try and pinpoint those things for each and every individual, but I want us to begin to try to recognize where our help comes from.
We serve a God who is a God of help. God will reach out to you in your weakness, lift you up, and restore to you from the things that you never thought that you could move on from. God is also a God of understanding. Though many people may try and judge you by your trials, God will not. Bring your issues to God and allow Him to help you change what needs to be! God is also a God of love. Sometimes we will fight so long for the acceptance of popularity or the forgiveness of things from others that will more than likely never come. However, if you pray to God to forgive you, he will wipe it all away and restore your life unto you.
What I am trying to tell you today is to not let your denial overrule your acceptance. Accept that you can pray and repent for your mistakes. Accept that God can help you and do allow anything to let you not deny it. Accept that God can save you from sin and that you can make Heaven your home. There is no better time than the present to stop looking behind you in your past, regretting all of the things you cannot change, and moving on from your denial and stepping into the acceptance of the power of Christ!
– – – –
Put Into Practice:
Sometimes the easiest way to recognize denial is in the silliest ones. If you are bold enough to try this example, I encourage you to: find an object that is heavy and will not break under any pressure or weight (like a rock or a bolt) and place it under a blanket. The interesting part is that in your mind you know that it is there and that walking on this would be quite uncomfortable. Try to humor yourself and say out loud “there isn’t anything under there”, and then try to walk on your blanket. If you have made it this far you are beginning to realize the power of denial.
Even though we will have problems that leap out in front of us or will hinder us in our walk with God we have to learn to recognize those small things and be able to remove them so that we can begin to be closer to God! Put denial in its place and do not allow yourself to live with it!