Download... September 18, 2011. Sunday Morning Service. Bro. Dave Goble.
We had a wonderful time meeting with Sis Elvia’s family yesterday at the memorial of her life. She had such a wonderful testimony of her life lived for Christ! We also know that when something can be said of such a wonderful Christian example left, it is only because of Christ Will and life ...‘allowed’ to be lived within that person. Sis Elvia's example was wonderful ‘because’ she allowed Christ to be revealed in her life, instead of her own will dominating. It is why she was ..who she was, ...and had the spiritual strength she possessed, to persevere unto the end ....as she did.
TEXT: PSALMS 51:7-13
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
This passage is typical of so many other scriptures, regarding the plan of God for all humanity. We all start out stained with sin,.....and our very existence separated from God. God in His plan through the Holy Spirit …”tracks us down,” ..deals with us, “connecting” and correcting us to be convicted of our need. We are compelled to then “cry out to God” to deliver us from our condition before Him. Verse 10 “Create in me a clean heart” ….There becomes a recognition that our hearts are not clean, that our spirit is not right with God, making necessary a renewal of our spirit a “remake” to conform to the Spirit of God. Verse 12 We then recognize the need to have a restoration of the joy of Salvation ..for the human to be enabled to put it into practice in the midst of all the temptations surrounding us in this world. God’s plan for this for us is simple, .. to be submitted to His Will.
The plan is simple...we stand in need of a Savior, we are lost until we are “Saved,” that we are “dirty” until made clean. God can do it. There then continues to be, a real need for our hearts to be examined along the way to be reminded that we might not be deceived, in order to know the truth about God’s plan.
We want to speak about 3 things. That first ...1) there’s a problem that we already alluded to, ...that needs to be “fixed.” 2) Your ‘will’ never goes away in Salvation...it doesn’t “evaporate” but it does however “change position” from being dominated by your flesh, ...to becoming in subjection to God’s Will. 3) That the change must stay that way for the believer while in this present world of increasing sinfulness that still affects us. For the strength of your will, which never goes away... needs to be ‘kept’ in subjection. The strength of our will is an amazing thing, but no matter how strong it is, it needs to be kept in subjection to God’s. For if not kept, it will again change position from a spiritual subjection, ...to a fleshly driven will. God’s divine will can keep you, until your last breath! None of us has any reason to doubt God’s promise.
"Our Sis Elvia who just passed”, had learned long ago to allow herself to be in subjection, ..to “finish her race.” How many times in life, are we all challenged in doing this? How many times have our children that we have raised from the cradle, grieved us by not choosing to serve God, and allowing themselves to be in subjection to their parent’s loving control? That will break the heart of godly parents. The enemy of our soul, would lie to us to say, “this spiritual subjection is not a desirable control.” Listening to that lie, will then bring about that one’s moving away from God’s dominance ...and back to Satan’s dominance through the flesh. It is a lie (and the paradox of a lie will “appear” to be truth) to think you can control the dominance of the flesh. That person then becomes deceived by that which they thought was the truth, ...although it is only lies. How great is that deception! That the “desirable truth” is in fact ..only a lie! It is a lie, to think you can contain control over your fleshly will, and think ..then.. that you can “come out ahead.”
The erosion of faith in our present day society has “carved” more doubt, less faith, anxiety, fears, isolation, and etc., ..than ever before. All the human striving through religion, philosophies, and etc., to alleviate this, has not been successful in helping mankind to have hope in Christ. Sometimes their efforts are a reflection upon the times that we live in. There was a “notion” transpiring after the second world war, in the “isolation" of humanity. The terrible, terrible things the world experienced, from the millions of people that died unnecessarily during that period. People were asking “Where is God, in this? Why didn’t a loving God stop or prevent this, and whole societies, have allowed their faith to be affected and unpracticed. It should not be a surprise from this, that cathedrals and churches in Europe are more and more turning into “tourist attractions.”
If you let these “feelings” of frustrations, isolation, and abandonment, dominate and control you, ...all kinds of other bad things will increasingly result. We have a God given control of our will. We are the ones that choose either to be placed in the dominance of God’s will or not. God can conqueror all those things. Mere religion is (in substance) saying that the simple plan of God no longer works, therefore leading to their religious formulas that have not worked and instead are“teaching” lies. Actually.. deceiving many souls. It results, not in further help, but further isolation, frustrations, lies, sin, etc. It instead creates a gap between God and man, through the fleshly leaderships.
Spouses are becoming isolated from each other. Children are isolated from their parents. Workers are isolated in their careers, etc. Should we have satisfaction? Yes soul satisfaction from God is needed for stability, by subjecting our own will to God. Everyone is humanly being “pressed.” Only having our will in subjection to God, can we have divine direction and strength.
In all brutal honesty, there is an isolation within faith, (not referring here to being backslid spiritually) ...that comes from our troubles ….IF not keeping up in our subjection to God’s will. There then is a growing sense of frustration and doubts within our own faith., sometimes when even we are doing carefully all we know to do. The psalmist by what we read, apparently felt this at times. One of the jobs a pastor has is to “point out” the problems of this day, to help with direction in our own ongoing set of personal problems. There is also an isolation going on today, where people not keeping their personal God given faith, are disconnecting with faith in general.
This spirit wants to “work” even on the saints. When you feel that “growing” sense of isolation, you are allowing a growing separation from God and your need to be corrected by Him. You must be able to “see” and acknowledge, to be able to subject your will to the only solution to your problem, found exclusively in God’s will alone. If you are not careful, there will be a growing separation within your own experience with God. This is not just about being fully back-slidded, etc., but that which leads slowly away from God, essentially and spiritually asleep.
Philippians 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
So happy that we have this promise! God will make known our needs and their solutions!
Job 20: 4-7, 27-29 4 Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,
5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? 6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; 7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he? 27 The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him. 28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath. 29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God. This is a description of the natural state of man, before Salvation which is wickedness which shall increase. Scriptures here, between the above stated, continues to describe the fate of the unredeemed man, from his natural wicked state. The carnal selfish state, which is the strength of the human will.
It also talks here about the desire of man to preserve himself, to live, a natural inherited characteristic. The strongest part of the human will. The human will defends the physical as well as the carnal. Self preservation,.. this ‘will’ ..placed in man by God, ..is the strongest force in the universe! Even with knowledge of the nuclear forces of the atom, gravities, etc., those forces “pale” in comparison to the human will! Nothing can break your will, unless you let it. If you don’t allow the breaking of your own will by God’s, you’ll never know the true full blessings of subjection to His will.
There is a “portion’ of breaking of the human will in the step of justification in Salvation. But it is essential that there is a furthering breaking of our human will in Sanctification, for a continued service to God. First our will somewhat is broken in the forsaking of repented and forgiven sins. Then in sanctification, there is a further breaking of our in the purging of the carnal nature, that must be dealt with. Our will being broken, enables for our spiritual vision to see the full need of our fleshly will to continue to be broken, for God’s will in our lives to be accomplished. The person that does not stay broken, is more successfully tempted to commit the sins, he was once delivered from.
The natural state of humanity is selfish. Which comes from a desire to survive. The supernatural state, that deeper part within our soul, is to intimately know God and His will. We will either know God as Redeemer or condemner. If we have not submitted to God’s will, we will be judged upon that. If not kept we will be allowing the experience we had of our will being subjected to God, to erode. The superficial human will can be likened to living on ..the surface.. of life. The surface (where we “meet” our problems of life and “fun”) of the fleshly, ..will only leads to frustration and dominance by lack of the deepness of faith. This is where the “world” lives,...on the “surface,” a “hard existence.” An ..unconnected to God,.. existence.
The ocean floor foundation is calm, but the “surface” is controlled by many currents and changing weather circumstances whether they be fierce, or calm. As humans we exist on the “surface”, but we need to live deeper on the settled foundations of faith, under us spiritually. Those that do, are “steadied” on the foundation (from beneath them). The world lives in a selfish “place,” shown by it’s ongoing resistance to God. A spiritually subjected experience or a self-less way, will always be exploring the substance of a foundational spiritual experience, while still existing on the “surface.” The child of God finds a way, to go deeper down, for the faith of God’s will. To live deeper in the will of God, will produce self-less fruit, that those “living for the surface” will be able to observe.
Philippians 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
The gospel has a strong solution for all of life. Real solutions are not found on the “surface” of life. The solutions are only going to found deeper down, within the foundation of Godly faith. You might say, “I’m okay, doing all I know to do,” but still there can be problems, family, personal, etc. The real question is “Is it working for you?” “Is it solving your problems?” “Is your faith working for you?” “What is your faith producing?” We all have these problems. If your faith is not solving your problems, it is bondage, it is empty, it is powerless, and a “surface thing.” “I was saved 20,30 40 years ago.” But is it still working for you? Are you truly happy? The real solutions are only found in the gospel!
So “the surface” is not connected in faith to God, where the sinner lives. The saint living deeper, may “feel” isolated. The solution is for them to get down even deeper, away from “the surface”, in faith, where real spiritual life thrives. It is deeper, where the will resides, and that’s where God has to deal with our needs. If the will is not in complete subjection to God, there will be trouble “on the surface.” If you find there is recurring problems and patterns in your life, Examine your will. Again...Philippians 3:15….God shall reveal even this unto you. So we can’t “deal” with these problems on the surface, but deeper where ‘the will’ ...resides.
When 2, or 3 persons all have a problem, and all want to solve it, the problem will be solved. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way!” But when you have 1 or more that are involved in the problem, and they see that, but don’t want to solve it, ..it will not be solved. Everyone that is part of a problem, has to be involved in solving it, or it will not be solved! Because if even one person can’t see that their will, is in between the solution and the problem,.. it won’t be solved. The strength of the will is so important, to recognizing whether that one’s will is in complete subjection to the plan of God, or not. This goes beyond just making sure you are not knowingly sinning, ...there is so much more. For in our service to God, we realize a problem of ours, is not getting solved, we must then examine our will.
You might think, I have already suffered enough, it’s someone else turn to be “broken.” Actually we should be willing to be broken again, as many times as ti takes, for God’s will to be dominant in our life. Forgiving our brother 70x7, if that is what it takes. Matthew 18:21,22 21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Be willing to go the extra mile, (If he ask you to go one mile, go “twain.”) Matthew 5: 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. The world needs to see a broken will in us, however many times needed, to know there is help for them also.
We need to be changed. Changed from a sinner to a saint. From being selfish to selfless. To be broken as a saint, to have the spirit to kept one with God. And then we have the need to be willing to be broken yet again, again and again.
This scripture is “to illustrate a point.” Genesis 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. The flood came when...the great fountains of the deep broken up and the windows of heaven were opened.. The fountains of the great deep were broken. The scriptures tell us “A broken and contrite spirit I will not despise.” Psalms 51: 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Sometimes God reveals to His people that they need to be broken once again. Not just the surface, but in the great depths of the will. This will reveal the real need of that soul. Breaking up of the deep rooted things of our life, is not always a bad thing! In the example here in Genesis, it was by the fountains being broken up, that the “filth” of the earth could be washed away.
The breaking up of some things is needed in our lives which only God can see, so those things can be ..washed away. The “surface cannot be changed in any other way. It is at the surface that problems arise, but only by going deeper can they be solved. It will not help to surround our problems with excuses or self protection from our “painful places of our past ...with surface solutions. This can even happen with Saints, being human, and trying to protect themselves from those deep rooted and painful problems. We need to allow ourselves to be broken up again by God’s will, which is the only solution for them. It was only through this brokenness (in Genesis) that God’s will and plan could be continued, as designed. In a personal example, Bro Goble testified how he sometimes relies also on his wife’s exhortations,(or another minister, pastor,or another saint), to see things he doesn’t alone see, in examining his “brokenness.” For without this, his faults would remain there, unaddressed.
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Confess your faults (to be healed.) We can’t be healed if we can’t confess our faults to one another. Discretion is of course needed here, but there has to be a willingness to confess anything hindering you from God’s will in your life. The strength of your will must be broken, that would hinder you from submitting to this ...God instructed humility. If we see our problem recurring, we have to ask our self what deep rooted problem is prompting this? It needs to be “healed” to through the breaking up of our will ...completely. Sometimes we might rather than confess our fault, say “God can help me with that.” Yet by not humbling down before another, dilutes any help God can give us.
Psalms 19:2 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
Sometimes we can’t see our errors. God can see what we can’t see of our secret faults (not speaking of sin). Sometimes we can worry about the difference of faults or sin. Faults can worry saints, causing “surface” disturbances. So we need to understand these things about ourselves, so we can get help. If we’re afraid to acknowledge our faults....we have a problem! Not necessarily sin, but we need real spiritual help and correction.
Are you happy with what your faith is producing? Not are you content with God and Salvation...but is you Will Subjected? The strength of the will, is the strongest force of humanity. The strongest force of the universe is God and His will!
