by Tony Clark
I was out shopping the other day and noticed a couple walking together and John 1:12-13 was impressed upon my spirit.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13
I believe that what God was speaking to me about was not in relation to people being born of God, but more the fact that there are things being birthed out of the will of man and the will of the flesh that are far from the will of God – So much goes on in this world that originates in self will and fleshly wants and desires and is far from what God intended and is not birthed in Him nor is it pleasing to Him.
In relation to marriages and relationships, in the world and in the church, many people follow “a way that seems right to man but it’s end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12
People get into relationships for all kinds of reasons, without consulting God and their God given leaders, and because of fleshly wants and needs, or because they have been wounded in their hearts, try to fill the voids that are created, and look to relationships for comfort or to escape the pain they feel, but this can result in compounding the very problems they are trying to fix in further damaging their hearts, relying on and trusting in others instead of God – who is the only one that can heal them. Ask me how I know this!
In particular I felt the Holy Spirit focusing on the fact that there is a lot being done in the earth that is not of Him and is purely the will of the flesh and the will of man. This grieves the heart of God.
One prevalent incorrect attitude in the church that God has been highlighting to me is that “If it’s God’s will then it will happen, what I do doesn’t affect that.” (Which is really eastern philosophy). But the fact remains that there is a lot happening in our lives that is not His will and some things that He has willed for us have never happened, because we are resisting Him and we have another way of doing things that we think will get us what WE want, and get our needs met.
A scripture that comes to mind is that “All things work together for good to those that love Him, to those who and are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 – People love that scripture.
We can look at this to mean that no matter what I do, all the trouble I get myself into, all of the things I choose over His will, all the results of me doing things my way: God will in some way make it all work out for me and get me where I need to be and fulfil His will for my life. But I wonder whether doing our own thing, our own way and resisting Him is what He meant by “those that love Him” in this verse – when we know that to love God is to obey Him?
And there is grace, God is amazingly long suffering and patient with us, and we all go through stages of learning and immaturity, where God allows us to mess up and teaches us, in and through our experience, and although there are still consequences for our actions somehow we get to where we need to be because of His favour. But then there’s a time to grow up, as we become more aware of the consequences of our actions and what our sin does to the heart of God, to ourselves, and to others, and find that the grace that once shielded us from the harshness of the penalty of sin is meant to empower us to live a holy life so that we can honestly continue to say “I love You” without contradicting ourselves by choosing our will over His every time. That’s not Love.
Another scripture – “The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord” Psalm 37:23
I once wondered whether this meant that the things I found myself doing were predestined or controlled by God, and that I had very little real choice in the way I did things. But once again it’s the righteous man that has his steps ordered by the Lord, the man that is led by the Spirit, not the fleshly man that walks according to the lusts of his evil heart. As we choose Him, and are led by Him we will walk in His perfect will.
I feel that the plan of God in this dispensation is to have men and woman that are led by Him, that are no longer controlled by the lusts of this world, that have chosen Him, over themselves, and their own desires and will, and have truly come into the reality of “It’s no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” When a people like this are alive and well on this planet we will see great fruit and a massive harvest for the Kingdom of God, because its what He does that is perfect and it’s what He does that brings the result. We cannot do anything of value without Him, our “good works” are really selfishness and bear little real eternal fruit in God. But coupled with the Holy Spirit, led by God every action will send ripples into eternity.
God loves us, and patiently works His perfect purpose in us, but I cant help but feel that things are getting more serious, and there is a lot more required of us than there has been in the past, because time really is short. We can have our own lives and our own plans and our own agendas but we will miss out on so much!
“I know the thoughts(plans) I have for you, thoughts(plans) of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
The only thing that will last is what we do in Him, everything else will fall away. There is such reward (of GREAT magnitude) for those that will choose His way, and only they will taste of it.
Get healed, seek God, submit to your leaders, repent of your sin as the Holy Spirit makes it visible, as He convicts, and trust in the God who can do ALL things!
