Confront the Child Within

The child can represent the child that we once were and the weak child of God on the inside of us….when our faith becomes weakened we must confront the child within by the Word of God.

The Enemy Within:

I am not overly concerned about witches, demons, sorcery or astrology.  As bad as crime is, I am not too worried about muggers, thieves, rapists, or con artists.  I do not want to be their victim, but they are not my greatest dread.  Nor WILL I stress myself out and become anxious thinking about  a figure dressed in red with a pitchfork and a pointed tail who makes evil suggestions to me.  If there is anything that I constantlyfight against and wrestle with is the enemy in me.  That is the one that I am most concerned about – the enemy “IN-A-ME”

Romans 1:21 – Because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful , but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  28 - and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind  to do those things which are not convenient.

God gave them OVER to a reprobate mind – He turned them over to themselves – the deadliest enemy of ALL – ME!  Romans 8:7 – For the carnal mind is enmity against God.

.  The greatest judgment that could ever confront any of us is for God to turn us over to ourselves.  Romans 7:19 – For the good that I would do I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do.

We need to Know Our Potential and who we are IN Christ

I have to confront the child within and believe that I can do all things through Christ who has strengthened me.

Galatian 2:20  I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

God challenges us in unique and special ways to help us know who we are, despite our handicaps.  When we have no goals, it is easy for others to impose on us their ideas of who we are and are not, and of what we should and should not be doing.    Anytime  we do not know and understand our purpose, or who we were created to be, we become vulnerable to being manipulated by others.  Revelations 4:11- Thou art worthy O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Phillippians 2: 13 – For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Phillippians 2:14 – Do all things without murmurings and disputings.  Dispute-Argument

To will – The Desire – God dropped the desire in my spirit to do what I do for His glory.  To do – The deed that God has given unto me to DO.

A SEAT IS RESERVED FOR YOU IN HEAVEN. 

I have to confront the child within and tell myself that I WILL MAKE IT

St. John 14:2 – In my Father’s house there are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself that where I am there ye may be also.

The Devil is the Accuser of the Saints of God – Rev 12: 10 --The accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

The devil is accusing us:

THEY ARE NOT WHOLE ENOUGH FOR YOU

THEY ARE A LIAR

THEY ARE NOT FAITHFUL ENOUGH

THEY ARE NOT LOYAL ENOUGH

THEY  ARE PERVERTED

THEY DON’T LOVE YOU ENOUGH

THEY ARE NOT MOTIVATED

THEY DO NOT WORSHIP YOU ENOUGH

THEY DO NOT WANT TO PRAISE YOU

Psalm 23:4 Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. 5 thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…..

Alone with God

Genesis 32:22-24 And he Jacob rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.  And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had,  24-And Jacob was left alone.

When God begins to call you away to himself, you may want to surround yourself with people.  Unless you realize what is going on, you will gather people around you so you will not be alone.  That will not help.  You can be surrounded by people and still be alone if God is after you.

You can experience intimate relationships and still be alone.  Who are you?  Who are you when nobody is looking.  That is the real you.  Who are you when all the camouflage is off.  When you don’t have an ego to defend.  When you have nothing to prove.  Who are you when you are not concerned about who is driving the nicest car, or who owns the biggest house, or who makes the best business decisions.

God wants us to be alone because that is when he c=really operates.  Nobody receives guests in the operating room.  I do not care how many loved ones you have around you, when you get ready to go through surgery, the doctors put them all out, even your wife and kids.    And Jacog was left alone.  Jacog  was not just alone, he was left alone.  The word left implies that somebody who was there deparated.    Somebody he thought he could depend on moved.  Somehone he fellowshipped with abandoned him.  And Jacob was left alone.  He was left alone,isolated, and separated by God for a  a divine purpose, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.  Genesis 32:24 -  And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

God will come for a Fight with us –

This is when I have to deny the child within (fears, lack of faith, terror, despair, or, want to give up and let go).

When Jacob was alone with God many would say why did not God come to fight him rather then to comfort him.  God did not come to comfort Jacob he came to confront Him.  Many times God will come to confront us and bring us to a challenge by trials and tribulations that confront us in this life.

·       God will come to confront us to enable us to master our lives.

·       God willcome to confront us and wrestle with us to bring us to subjection to his will.

·       God will come to confront us and make us uncomfortable to move us away from mediocre ministry.

·       God will come to confront us with troubles and financial despair to remind us that all of the blessings have come from his hands – and not our own inventions.

·       God will come to confront us in the midst of a storm to bring us to our knees when we have to lay aside the normal prayer and pray as though we are losing our minds and not stop and until he blesses us.  Genesis 32:26 – And he said, let me go, for the day breaketh, and he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

Keep on Being Filled

Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.

The command to be filled with the Spirit is suggesting a continuous being filled in the original Greek language.  We are not filled once for all, like a bucket.  Instead, we are to be filled continuously.  We need to be filled over and over again!

Look at this comparison of an old time farmhouse kitchen.  In one corner was a sink, above it was a pipe through which came a continuous stream of water from the spring outside.  The water by running constantly, kept the sink brimful of good water.

In the same way, we are to let ourselves be filled and then emptied of the Spirit--like a leaky bucket--only to be refilled later on, again and again.  Rather the Holy Spirit should flow within us constantly and He will as we yield ourselves to Christ's presence and power every day.

When we empty ourselves of the Spirit this is when we allow the filling of the Holy Spirit to release His power in our ministries, in our walk, in our talk, in our giving, in our sharing, in our witnessing, in our preaching.  Allow the Spirit of Christ to flow from your vessel and touch someone else that needs to know about the goodness of Jesus. Allow the Spirit of Christ to touch someone that needs to be encouraged.

Don’t Worry About It!

Don’t Worry About It!

IntroductionFirst Peter 5:7 contains the following exhortation: “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” These words are similar to those of King David in Psalm 55:22 where he writes, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” In both passages, believers are encouraged to give our worries to the Lord, whose loving concern and sustaining power are available to us at all times. 

Human beings are well acquainted with worry. We worry about our job security, our physical appearances, our public images, our families, and our futures.  We also worry about sickness, death, and other critical concerns.  The Christians who received Peter’s letter, like many of us, had ample opportunity to worry.  They were going through tremendous trials and hardships.  They often endured persecution because of their faith in Christ.  Yet, in the midst of difficult times, Peter tells his readers, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 

Why Not Worry?
So why shouldn’t we worry?  Is Peter telling Christians to ignore the various troubles of life—to live in a state of denial?  Certainly not!  One verse later in First Peter 5:8 the apostle declares, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”  Thus, there are real things about which to be concerned.  Yet, we still are not to allow worry to consume us!  Why?  Let me offer three reasons.

1. Worry represents an improper focus.  Worry focuses our attention on our problems rather than on God.  When we worry, we sometimes forget that God is greater than any problem or trial and that he has promised never to leave or to forsake us (Hebrews 13:5, cf. Deuteronomy 31:6,8).
2. Worry keeps us from truly trusting God.  Casting our cares and worries upon the Lord is very much an act of trust.  When we do so: (1) we acknowledge our complete dependence on God and (2) we express our faith that God is fully able to handle our problems.
3. Worry does not change situations.  Jesus asked in Matthew 6:27, “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”  Worry is useless and unproductive because it does not improve the situations that we face.

Replacing WorryOkay, so what can we allow into our lives to replace worry?   I believe that there are at least three things that we need in our lives instead of worry.

1. Worship.  It is imperative that we replace worry with worship.  When our eyes are fixed on the Lord, everything else pales in comparison to Him.  It is very difficult to be overcome by anxiety and fear, when we occupy our thoughts with the Lord and His goodness.  Isaiah 26:3 declares, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
2. Wisdom.  We must replace worrying about situations with seeking God for wisdom.  Such wisdom is always granted to the one who asks for it in faith (James 1:5-8).  Wisdom involves seeing things from God’s perspective, seeing things as they really are.  Seeing things from God’s perspective combats fear in our lives because when we do so, we immediately realize that He is more than able to handle our problems.
3. Weapons.  Finally, we need to displace our fears and anxieties with the vast arsenal of weapons giving to us by God.  We are told in 2 Corinthians 10:4 that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (or earthly), but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds.”  Ephesians 6 encourages believers to “put on the full armor of God.”  We are equipped with everything that we need to survive in these perilous times.  We must therefore, appropriate God’s provisions through prayer and through obedience to His Word.

ConclusionSo finally, what does it really mean to cast our cares upon the Lord?  Well, in a nutshell, it means to have faith in God.  If you are filled with worry, anxiety or fear on today, then go to the Lord in prayer.  Cast your cares upon him and leave those cares on the altar.  You’ve got to trust God.  He can handle your problems much better than you can.  I invite your comments.

December 12, 2010 Posted by Dr. Wilfred Graves Jr.