Sanctification Prepares You To See And Hear God

                                                     When The Door Slams 

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."                                   Isaiah 6:8

        It take a pure heart to see God (Matt. 5:8). You can attend church services, read your Bible, and pray; but if sin fills your heart, you will not see God. You will know when you have encountered God because you life will no longer be the same. 

        Isaiah was concerned with the death of King Uzziah, the able king of Judah, but was disoriented to his heavenly King. Then something happened that forever changed Isaiah's life. God, in all His awesome majesty, appeared to him in the temple, surrounded by heavenly creatures. Instantly, God's presence made Isaiah aware of his sinfulness. One of the seraphim came to him with a burning coal and cleansed Isaiah of his sin. Immediately, Isaiah began to hear things he had never heard before. 

        Now he was aware of a conversation in heaven concerning who might be worthy to be God's messenger to the people. This prompted Isaiah's eager response: "Here am I! Send me." Now that God had cleansed Isaiah, he was aware of heavenly concerns and prepared to offer himself in God's service. Where as Isaiah had been preoccupied with earthly matters, now his only concern was the activity of God.

        Think about this: If you have become estranged from God and His activity, you need to experience His cleansing. Sanctification prepares you to see and hear God. It enables you to serve Him. Only God can purify your heart. Allow Him to remove any impurities that hinder your relationship with Him and other love ones, and then your service to Him will have meaning as you offer Him your consecrated Life. 

Who shall separate me from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we face death all day long; We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." Yet in all these things I am more than a conqueror through Him who loved me. (Romans 8:35-37). 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.

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Sin Hardens The Heart To Become Stone

                                                      When The Door Slams 

"I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgements and do them.                                         Ezekiel 36:26-27

        From our hearts comes our response to God. Apart from the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, our hearts are extremely deceitful (Prov. 17:9). David prayed that God would cleanse him from the evil of his sin and purify his heart (Ps. 51:10). God's greatest desire is that His people love Him will all their hearts (Deut. 6:5). Jesus said we are blessed if our hearts are pure (Matt. 5:8). 

        Sin hardens the heart (Matt. 13:4,19). The more sin we allow to pass over our hearts and through our lives, the more resistant we become to a Word from God. The sin of unforgiveness and disobedient stiffens our hearts. We cannot continue to resist the activities of the Holy Spirit without becoming hardened against Him. Exposing ourselves to evil and ungodly sexual influences desensitizes us to God and His Word. Over time, our hearts become like stone, unreceptive to a fresh Word from God. We become unconsciousness to sin. 

        Think about this: Has your heart grown hard toward God? Do you feel as though nothing could soften it? God has a solution. He will separate you from the influences that are destroying you      (Ezek. 36:24). He will cleanse you from all filthiness and remove everything that has taken His place in your affections (Ezek. 36:25). He will remove your heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh, tender toward Him and His Word. If your love for God is not what it should be, ask Him to renew your heart and restore your devotion to Him.

Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin (Psalm 51:1,2). 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.

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The Light Of Life

                                                     When The Door Slams   

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.                                             John 1:4-5

        When Jesus came to a world that was in bondage to darkness and dead in its sin, He came as light and life. His light dispelled sin's darkness wherever He went, for the forces of evil could not withstand Him. The life He brought was abundant and free, available to all who were dead in their sin (Eph. 2:1; John 10:10). 

        Think about this: If you are a Christian, Jesus lives in you, and His light is within you. Christians are called to dispel darkness (Eph. 5:11). The light of Christ ought to shine so brightly through you that those practicing darkness are uncomfortable when they are around you. But how can you help others when you are living and walking in darkness. The light within you should dispel darkness from the lives of your friends, coworkers, and family members. If your are truly obedient and faithful to the Word of  God. 

        The fullness of life found in Christ dwells within you as a Christian (Col. 1:27). The life that Jesus offers is available to others through you. Don't discount what you have to give to those who are hurting. How can you help others when you are walking in darkness? Christ's life within you is more than sufficient to meet every human need. When people encounter you, they encounter Christ within you. You do not know all the answers, but you have Someone within you who does! You will not carry the burden of the needs of others. Christ will. You must be aware that just as many resisted Jesus, so there will be those who resist the truth that you offer (John 1:11). Be thankful, however, that God chooses to express Himself through me, giving light and life to those around me.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12) 

Those who suffer according to the will of God should commit themselves to their faithful Creator in doing good. (1Peter 4:19). 

I am from God and I am an overcomer, because He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)    

May I put away all of these things: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from my mouth. (Colossians 3:8)

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.

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Sin Brings Death (Romans 6:23)

                                                      When The Door Slams

"The thief does not come except to steal, and kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.                                 John 10:10

        Jesus warn us to be on guard for thieves who will try to rob us of what God has for us. Jesus wants us to enjoy abundant life (John 10:10). Since the time of Adam and Eve, people have had to choose whom to believe. Satan convinced Adam and Eve that forfeiting their obedience to God would gain them everything. Instead, their disobedience robbed them of all they had. For the rest of their lives they experienced only a fraction of the blessings God had intended. Scripture is jam-packed with accounts of those who forfeited their inheritance as children of God in order to gain that which was short-lived and empty. 

        Think about this: The world seeks to convince you that you will find fulfillment if you adopt its standard of morality for your marriage, raising your children, advancing your career, or pursuing pleasure. If you believe this, you will never experience the blessings God intended for you. Sin brings death    (Rom. 6:23). It is tragic to listen to the voices of the world instead of the One who created life and who wants you to experience life to its fullest. 

        Jesus wants you to live your life with security, knowing that you are a beloved child of God. If you are not experiencing love, joy, and peace, you have settled for less than what God intends for you. If you have been making excuses for why you are not experiencing an abundant and and joyful life, determine today to settle for nothing less than God's best for your life. Stop following the way of the world, trying to find satisfaction. Instead, listen and obey the Holy Spirit, and you will  find true fulfillment.   

        May I not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all my heart. May I not turn aside to go after worthless things which do not profit or deliver, because they are useless.                      (1 Samuel 12:20-22).   

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.  

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Righteousness Is Not Only An Absence Of Sin

                                                      When The Door Slams  

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shell be filled.                                                                                                                                                     Matthew 5:6

        Hunger and thirst are the body's way of telling us that we are "empty." Our natural response to physical hunger and thirst is to seek food and water to satisfy our need. Each Christian has an inner longing that only Christ's righteousness can satisfy. But we cannot be filled with righteousness if we are filled with self. 

        Throughout the Scriptures God emphasizes that the one who longs for Him with all their heart will find Him (Jer. 29:13). As we crave righteousness, we will repent of our sin, and God will remove it from us. Our selfishness will be replaced by the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). The Spirit will make us to be like Christ.

        Think about this: Righteousness is not to be taken lightly, nor is it easily attained. Holy God does not give His righteousness to people indiscriminately. He gives it to those who know they cannot live without it. Our desire for personal righteousness must be powerful, all-consuming, dominating everything we do. Pursuing righteousness means that we value the opinion of God far more than we treasure the opinions of people.

        Righteousness is not only an absence of sin. It is allowing God to fill us with His holiness    (Rom. 6:11). It is being like Christ. Jesus is our model of One who sought God's righteousness first, and then the Father glorified Him. We are not only to seek the kingdom of God, but we are also to pursue His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). If we will hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will be satisfied!

        Let me hear Your unfailing love in the morning, For I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should walk, For to You I lift up my soul (Ps.143:8).  

Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord God and thank Him for His forgiveness.                      

                                            

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A Fool Makes Unwise Choices With His Time

                                                     When The Door Slams

Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.                                                                                               Ephesians 5:15-20  

        These days we are bombarded with opportunities that entice us to invest our time and energy. Each day the voices of sin cry out for every available moment. So many causes promise that time spent on them will reap great rewards; how can we recognize God's voice among so many competing voices? 

        A fool makes unwise choices with his or her time. With every new opportunity that comes along, the fool chases off in a different direction, not questioning whether that is the best choice. The loudest voice gains your attention. At some point the fool discovers to his disappointment that he has squandered the investment of his time.

        The days in which you live are evil. Marriages are under tremendous pressure; families are falling apart. Multitudes are dying every day without hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Investing your life wisely is critical to you and those around you. Foolishly spending your time in sinful or wasteful pursuits can cost you and others dearly.

        Think about this: Often it is not evil pursuits that rob your time. Rather, the temptation is to sacrifice what is best for what is good. The enemy knows clearly tempting you with evil will be obvious, so he will lure you with distractions, leaving you no time to carry out God's will. He will tempt you to fill your schedule with good things that you have no time for God's best. You may unintentional substitute religious activity for God's will, pursuing your own goals for God's kingdom instead of waiting for God assignment. Your time is precious to the Holy Spirit.

Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness. 

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Sin Will Corrupt Every Area Of Your Life

                                                       When The Door Slams

But God Has a way to make people right with him without the Law, and he has now show us that way which the law and the prophets told us about. God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all people are the same: All have sinned and are not good enough for God's glory, and all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ. God gave him as a way to forgive sin through faith in the blood of Jesus' death. This showed that God always does what is right and fair, as in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. And God gave Jesus to show today that he does what is right. God did this so he could judge rightly and so he could make right any person who has faith in Jesus.                                        Romans 3:21-26

        Because of sin, Adam and Eve fell short of the perfection God intended for them. Because of sin, the Israelites relinquished the glory they could have experienced as God's holy nation. Because of sin, Judas fell short of the opportunity to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. Sin will corrupt every area of your life that it touches. Sin will cause your marriage to fall short of the promise it held in the beginning. Sin will cause you to fall short as parents, a church member, a worshiper, or a friend. Every area in your life is easily touched by sin, and you will receive a deceitful and destructed heart.

        The wonder of salvation is that God completely dealt with sin. Jesus Christ did what we could not do. Through Christ's sacrifice, God, by His grace, offered His salvation and canceled the penalty of our sin. By His grace, He takes a life that has fallen short of God's best and gives it meaning. He provides the opportunity to immediately confess your sin's and to be cleansed from all unrighteousness                (1 John 1:9). He mends a broken heart. His grace erases anger and bitterness. He restores severed relationships. He take a life devastated by sin and make it whole, when you give your life to Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savor through the power of the Holy Spirit.

        Think about this: The Holy Spirit takes our failures and produces something good. Only God can heal sin's devastation. Only God can bridge the gap between His glory and our sin (Rom. 3:23). You must trust Him to be your personal Savor. If you will ask Him, He will free you from the bondage of your sin, you must establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savor, and He will make you whole.

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.

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