James 4:8-10 “Come close to God and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
The second dangerous prayer is “Break me”. As “born again” Believers, we live in the grace of God, but that does not give us the license to willfully sin ever. God hates sin, which separates us from Him. We cannot misuse the grace of God as a cloak for our willful sin. Our sins have not been forgiven so that we can sin more, but some live in that ungodly vain. Light and darkness cannot co-exist. Our sin needs to be recognized for what it is, confront personally in righteousness and holiness, allowing God to deal with it. God loves us and wants us to be in relationship with him. But, when we willfully embrace sinful thoughts, desires, and behaviors, we willingly damage our intimate relationship with God.
Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh”.
Recognize the presence of God in spirit and in truth 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Outside of church, do you allow yourself to be involved in the things of this world that you cannot feel the presence of God? Do you allow ungodly things of the world to enter your eye-gate or ear-gate and into your mind? There is a grievous danger, so don’t allow your heart to become dulled and hardened to sin (the voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of rectitude or duty, prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity. Sin is either a positive act in which a known divine law is violated, or it is the voluntary neglect to obey a positive divine command, or a rule of duty clearly implied in such command. Sin comprehends not action only, but neglect of known duty, all evil thoughts purposes, words and desires, whatever is contrary to God's commands or law. Sinner neither enjoy the pleasures of nor the peace of piety).
When sin becomes so common in your life that you don’t even think about how horrible sin is, that is the greatest danger. Draw closer to God, and do not willingly participate in sinful things that are going to damage that relationship with your Heavenly Father. Nothing is to overshadow your sense of righteousness (being “right” before God). What priority do you put on prayer time, devotional time to God, reading your Bible, serving God and others at church or inside and outside the home, and in attending Bible Study/Fellowship groups? Sometimes, we need to ask God to break the chains that bind us to the distractions, deceptions, busyness and temptations which drive the “wrong” priorities in our life; to break down that wall which we have built between Him and us the hinders our relationship with our Divine Maker. Danger: Sin separates us from the from the awesome presence and loving closeness of our just and holy God. A heart that is love with Lord Jesus breaks when it knows that it has offended Him and grieved the indwelling Holy Spirit. God, break me that my heart may be free to rightly worship you, free to rightly serve you, free to rightly love you, free to live a right and holy life to bring honor and glory to You and Your kingdom.
1 Chronicles 4:10 Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would greatly bless me and extend my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm so that it would not hurt me!” And God brought about what he requested.
The third dangerous prayer is “Stretch me”. May God stretch us to be more like Jesus and advance the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Being stretched means to be brought beyond our existing boundaries, limits and comfort zones. When we pray “stretch me”, we are asking God to take us beyond our safe and comfortable limits and extend our border, taking us into those areas that we perceive “dangerous”. If we want to become what God intends us to be, we need to be brought beyond our self-imposed limits. If we want to be the disciples of Christ that the Lord calls us to be, then we have to understand that He will take us beyond our self-imposed restrictive boundaries.
Let's continue Pastor Herk's challenging message of following Jesus in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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