28 Sep The Restraining Work Of God
Pastor Vincent - 10 October 2013
Follow The Lord's Instruction Closely In Spiritual Battle
It is human nature to worry about tomorrow. What if I can't do this, what if things don't work well tomorrow.. what if we often let what has yet to happen to rob away our present happiness in Lord. Before Jericho, the Lord said to Joshua, " See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.." God is always there, He is always present in your sadness, your current helplessness, your current family problem, relationship problems and even your insufficiency. But we often forget, we are often being frightened by what have yet to comeÉ the what if's in your mind - Satan is always instilling the fear, the deceptions and confuse our spirits so that we cannot look at the truth of God and draw strength from it. Behind the problem we are seeing everyday is actually the deeper spiritual battles that we need to fight against Satan - who is attacking us in every possible way just to divert us away from God's truth so that we feel the gospel irrelevant. But God has a precise instruction to our problems now, so that we can stand against the devil's scheme. Be in sync with God, hear what the Lord says and follow it carefully. As we wait upon the Lord and see what He is doing right now in our lives, we will then not be distracted by Satan into following our own desires and emotions. The Lord is not slow in fulfilling His promise and He has time for everything, therefore, go into prayer and ask God to reveal the very next thing we can do while waiting for His timetable. As we develop the instinct to hear Him through prayers, our faithful God will not hide from you and when the perfect time comes, your Jericho will be conquered, as you become more intimate with God.
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God restrains us because of LOVE
We cannot have absolute freedom because of:
(1) Our fallenness ⟹ Self-destruct, and will never choose God.
(2) Our Weakness due to existing sinful nature ⟹ Helpless in doing good.
(Martin Luther – Christians are justified and yet a sinner at the same time).
Yet, do we embrace this “restrained freedom” in our lives?
Verses to Read:<Eph 4:26-27, 31-32>
God “gave them over” = The doctrine of Reprobation
The restraint by God in 4 ways
1) God restrains cosmic events
2) God restrains Satanic activity
3) God restrains sinners
4) God restrains His children (out of His eternal love for them)
<1 Sam 25:38-39>. About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died. When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise be to the Lord, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal’s wrongdoing down on his own head.”
Restrained, so as to be great instruments of God
1) Know that our greatest enemy is within us (i.e. our sinful nature).
2) Embraces God’s restraining work.
* <Ps 23:3>: He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
3) Through continual confirmation of God’s Word
* <Rn 12: 2>: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
How about deep wounds and grievances?
God restrains us so that HE will not have to keep restraining us indefinitely.
* “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” <Jn 15:15>.
* “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” <Jn 15:7>.
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