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To Be Honest…
We anticipate revival. We believe God is about to do something.
We War in the Spirit in prayer.
We repent for our own lives and also on behalf of the body.
We are awaiting something to happen…
But what about yourself?
· What is there in you that needs to be prepared, or changed?
I have been teaching/preaching on warfare, prayer, repentance, etc… And that cannot stop, BUT today I couldn’t get away from challenging us to look at ourselves and asking Jesus what in ME does He want?
· AM I TRUSTING JESUS ENOUGH TO TAKE A LOOK AT ME, and if I am READY for BREAKTHROUGH TO HAPPEN IN ME?
o Aren’t you ready for a freedom and liberty in your own self so THEN you can minister it to others?
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
· Honesty requires looking at the whole truth.
o Jesus is about to reveal in you, something that will help you MOVE ONTO a deeper walk in the spirit. ONLY IF you can be honest.
§ FREEDOM comes at a price! Something dies for freedom to come and in us our CARNAL NATURE has to die for the cause of the BIG PICTURE!
It is painful because while the truth ultimately liberates us, frees us, and brings us closer to God, initially it is something we would rather avoid.
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
· Truth – true (as not concealing), to lie hid,
o NT:225- the reality lying at the basis of an appearance. Honesty.
§ John 4:24 … worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality).
AMP
· To really be a worshipper requires honesty before God. This honest about self, relationship, nothing hidden before Jesus.
Although we know that the truth makes us free, why do you think unmasked honesty is so difficult for people?
· In what ways is it difficult for you?
Why do we need a “personal experience” of God’s Unconditional love for us in order to search the “deep insides” of our lives and come out of hiding?
In John 4, Jesus moved the woman at the well from surface concerns to the deeper issues of her life.
· He confronts her with why questions. He went below the surface of her actions to deal with bigger life-related questions;
o Why are you at the well in the “middle” of the day?
o Because you are ashamed?
o Why are you running from husband to husband?
o What void are you trying to fill?
o She tried to sidetrack the conversation, trying to keep it surfacy, by asking Jesus about the best place to worship;
John 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
o Jesus instead calls her to examine her life beneath the surface and consider her immoral lifestyle, as an indicator of her insatiable thirst for love.
When is the last time that you were totally honest with yourself before God?
God created man in his image. The image of God was found in his creation of Man. He created man – body, soul and spirit.
· In this we find the revelation of God’s own nature.
· We see this image of God perfected in the Manifestation of the Word of God. Jesus shows us the express image of the Person of God. We can see the fullness of God in Jesus. When we gaze into God, we will see him in all of his power in the Face of Jesus Christ. Just as he created one man, God is One. He has a Body, he has a Soul and he has a Spirit.
God gives us a picture of how we can walk and fellowship with God in the life of Christ.
Heb 4:12-13 12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Heb 4:13 And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do. AMP
o He knows us. How we really are, when we are alone or with our peers…
Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. In the beginning Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed. This simply means that they had the kind of relationship that nothing was covered.
Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
· Because of the Sinful Nature of Man, something told Adam and Eve to put clothes on.
o They tried to cover their sin.
§ When we have mess in our lives, we try to cover it up with our own efforts…
Gen 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
· When God came, he clothed them with more permanent clothing.
o He covered them so they would be transparent/honest before Him again.
o His covering brings honesty…
There is a place in God where you can feel safe and secure in knowing God knows everything. When we flee from that idea, we illustrate we are not walking with God as we should.
· We have to become transparent, vulnerable and totally honest before God…
· He wants us to WALK with Him! WAR with Him against the flesh and darkness…
God’s intent is that we are broken and vulnerable. (Not relying on our efforts or strength to cover or make up what we think we need, but allowing God’s strength to work through our weakness and brokenness.)
After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God pursued them and makes a way for them to come back to Him.
· Provides clothes. Then prophesies how He would defeat Satan!
Because of the fall, God also builds the curse of the “thorns and thistles” (Gen 3:18) into the fabric of life as we know it today. Gen 3:17-18 17 …cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
· God explains how that from that point forward, life will be painful, difficult and frustrating.
He breaks the curse down into two primary areas: our relationships (Gen 3:16) and our work (Gen 3:17-19).
· Relationships will be marked by pain and misunderstandings.
o We will be disappointed in our marriages, families, churches, friends and workplaces. Intimacy replaced with manipulation and power struggles, putdowns, seductions, defensiveness and the withholding of relationships. Loneliness will reign.
· Work will be hard and frustrating.
o We will have failures. The ground will be hard. Thorns and thistles will mark our work. We will never feel completely satisfied.
Why does God do this? Why must we suffer this way? He released this curse to drive us to our knees, to seek Him, to recognize our need of a savior (Gal 3:21-25)!
The problem is rather than be broken by the thorns and thistles of life, we either flee, fight or hide!
· We flee by burying our pain in some form of addictive behavior.
· We fight by becoming anger, bitter, or violent because life isn’t going our way.
· We hide by building our lives in ways that cover up how damaged, cracked fractured, frail, limited and imperfect we are.
Everyone is broken, cracked or imperfect, it is the common thread of humanity. Even for those who deny its reality in their life. God’s intent is that we are broken and vulnerable.
· Not relying on our efforts or strength to cover or make up what we think we need, but allowing God’s strength to work through our weakness and brokenness.
