Two types of Guilt- Romans 5:20

Guilt is one of the enemy’s strongest weapons. It tears us down and makes us feel undeserving of the love Jesus Christ gives us.

Types of Guilt

There are two kinds of guilt:

1)      Godly sorrow that leads a person to repentance- Conviction from the Holy Spirit.

When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:8)

2)     Condemnation- accusations from the devil

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death (2 Cor 7:10)

Guilt is a trap set by the enemy

Guilt is really a sign that we are unwilling to forgive ourselves; it grows when we dwell on our mistakes. The enemy loves to remind us of our past failures, he wants us to keep thinking about all our mess ups.

We need to learn the difference between these two types of guilt. When we recognize the first kind- Conviction- we need to ask the Lord for forgiveness but also forgive ourselves. Unlike conviction, condemnation (the second kind of guilt) should be dismissed. If we fail to dismiss this kind of guilt from our lives, we will end up building strongholds in our lives and weaken our relationship with God.

What is a Stronghold?

Strongholds are an ancient part of our history and more common than one would think. As cities formed and populations grew, people began to realize that living in out in the open made them victim to dangers. Builders soon created walls/barriers around their homes and cities to protect their citizens. A city with walls was a more secure location. As the city prospered, it would begin to gain control on surrounding villages- which were often unprotected. This picture of a walled in city was commonly known as a stronghold.

Strongholds are points/places that are difficult to defeat because of their design (or walls). This physical stronghold can be used to represent our spiritual strongholds- They are points of defense in our lives that are hard to remove. Paul describes strongholds as anything that exalts itself against Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Guilty Strongholds

A stronghold is any lie that we believe resulting in an incorrect thinking pattern. Strongholds from guilt are often formed by a false perception of ourselves. When we hold on to guilt, we do not see God for who He truly is- a loving, merciful, & forgiving Father who has made us a new creation!

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Galatians 2:20- I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Accept His Forgiveness and Press Forward!

Christmas is a difficult time for many people. Especially for those who have struggled with guilt, depression, or loss. You may struggle with a different area that the ones mentioned today, but no matter what kind of pain you feel, it is often highlighted during the holiday season and this is because our society has forgotten the true meaning and reason for Christmas. We focus on the gifts, parties, and decorations and we can get caught in the rush of the season- leaving us stressed with money, traffic, and time!

The reason for Christmas is to celebrate a God who came to this earth to save us! No matter where you are in life- socially, financially, physically, emotionally- we all have a reason to celebrate!

1 John 1:14- The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of graceand truth.

Isaiah 9:6- For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Today my heart breaks for the community in Newtown. The tragedy they are experiences is explainable  I cannot even begin to comprehend the pain these families must feel. I have heard many ask- “How could a loving God, allow this horrible tragedy to occur- and to such innocent victims?” This is a difficult question to think about and even more difficult to answer.

As an outsider- I can explain that we serve a God who knows all things and that through this devastating event, He will create good and eventually justice will be served. But for those who are in the mist of this- and directly effected- how do they find comfort and trust in our God?

We live in a broken and fallen world. The Lord has given each of us free will to live for him or for ourselves. When we choose to live for our own flesh we may can choose to harm ourselves and unfortunately harm others. But God promises that He will work all things for good:

Romans 8:28- And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

We have not been promised a perfect/easy life. God does not say that all things are or will be good… but He does promise that He will work all things together for good for His people.

For those of you who have experienced loss, guilt, or depression during this season, ask God to set you free from the pain. Ask him to reveal his love and purpose in your life. Only He can restore your heart and once he has, you can share your story as an inspiration for others. Do not allow pain to destroy your life, instead use it to inspire, strengthen, and motivate people around you!

And for those of you who have not felt this kind of grief: REJOICE and praise the Lord for your blessings. Tell your family and friends how much you love and care for them. Do not let another day go by wasted. Make today count and remember everyday should be like Christmas… God’s gift of Grace comes more than once a year. 

God's Redeeming Love

I.     The Pain of Betrayal

How many of you have ever been dumped? The sadness we feel from a broken heart- especially when we have been betrayed- is the same grief God experiences when we betray Him.

How do we betray the Lord?

The obvious:

Do not lie, do not steal, do not cheat, do not slander (speak poorly of others) - We know when we have broken these… but what about the commandments that are not so black and white.

The not so obvious:

Do not commit adultery & do not have any other God’s before me… You may be thinking- Umm Laura; those are very black and white. But are they?

The Lord is broken hearted when we allow anything to steal our love, attention, and obedience that rightly belong to Him. When we allow “other gods” to take priority in our lives, we are committing adultery!

I’m sure many of you are multitaskers- like me. As the queen of multitasking, it is extremely difficult for me to sit still and I have an urge to always be doing something. Because of this character trait, I really dislike talking on the phone, I literally have to force myself to have a conversation with the people in my life who I wish to remain close to. However; I still tend to schedule these calls during times I know I will be doing something else- “killing two birds with one stone.”

If you have frequent phone conversations with me I am typically, doing my laundry, driving, walking on the treadmill, getting dressed, getting my nails done… or something along these lines. Unfortunately, It is hard for me to give my full attention to the person on the other end and this could potentially harm our relationship. If my friend or family member needs me to listen and offer advice, I may miss something they say because I am too busy with my own agenda or worse I could hit a dead zone, while moving around, and get disconnected. I find that it is my constant movement that leads to the disconnects in my life.

This is exactly how our relationship with God can be.  We can fill our lives with too many things- sometimes even good things- and we become “too busy” or “too tired” to spend time with Him. We have to focus on our relationship with the Lord, or eventually we will get disconnected.

II.               Today’s Lesson- Hosea

This week, we are going to be walking through the first few chapters of Hosea.

2 Parts

                                                  i.      Chapters 1-3- Hosea’s marriage to Gomer

                                                 ii.      Chapter 4- Israel’s sins, concluding with a call for repentance and promise of restoration.

In both parts, we see the true meaning of Redeeming Love- A love so deep it saves us from death.

III.           PART ONE

A.    Hosea 1:2-3

When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

Why would God command Hosea to marry a prostitute?

The first reason: Sometimes God commands us to do unusual things to get our attention or the attention other’s. 

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God knows the future and unlike us, He can see the whole picture. His requests do not seem unusual to Him because he knows how things must play out to lead to the best end result.

The second reason: To illustrate the steadfast Love God has for His people.

Marital infidelity or unfaithfulness is the same act of betrayal as sin and disobedience is to the Lord. Yet still God loves us and longs for us to return to Him!

Christians are called the bride of Christ. We are God’s wife- bound to Him in a covenant similar to marriage. Like Israel, we are not always faithful as we come from sinful backgrounds- sometimes we return to our old ways and thus commit “spiritual adultery.” Even still God loves us- He tenderly yearns for us to return or repent.

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

B.    Hosea 2:2

“Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not my wife and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adulterous look from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.”

·     Hosea’s Pleading/The Lord’s Pleading

The King James Version (v.2) says- Plead instead of Rebuke- “plead with your mother”- Hosea is asking his children to confront her in hopes that she would turn away from her adulterous ways.

*The children symbolize the need for the Lord’s prophets (the need for us as believers) to reprove spiritual adultery in their land.

·     Wake-up calls & Warnings

Last time I taught (and also in my last blog entry), I talked about throwing flags when we encounter “false teachings” or sinful actions in our own lives or within our community. This is what Hosea is asking his children to do- and what the Lord has asked His people to do. This is what I will refer to as their wake up call.

The Lord always gives us a “wake-up call” or a warning. This comes from the Holy Spirit, when we are convicted about living in sin, but it is also our job, as brothers and sisters in Christ, to hold each other accountable. This is why the Lord has blessed us with a church body- so we can support each other through our struggles. 

But, what happens when we do not listen to these “wake up calls?” Can’t we just simply believe and live how we please?

C.    Hosea 2:10-13

“So now I will expose her lewdness before the eyes of her lovers; no one will take her out of my hands. I will stop all her celebrations: her yearly festivals, her New Moons, her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals. I will ruin her vines and her fig trees, which she said were her pay from her lovers; I will make them a thicket, and wild animals will devour them. I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but me she forgot, declares the Lord.”

·         Ignoring the Warning Signs

God will crush our delusional thinking and strip away our gifts received through sinful pleasures. Not out of anger or hate, but out of Love! He wants us to realize we need Him and that He is always willing to take us back!

We must realize that all we have is from the Lord; nothing was earned by our own merits. We have the ability to succeed because the Lord gave us our brain, our hands, and our feet. Nothing has been accomplished without him!

D.   Hosea 2:14-15

“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor, a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.”

·         The Lord’s Forgiveness and Redeeming Love

Once we have been stripped from the darkness, or we have simply fallen on our face because of the sin in our lives, God will allure (seduce) us to Him. He will give us more than we need because of his redeeming love for us!

E.    Part 1 Recap:

In the first two chapters of Hosea we see that we are no different from Gomer (the prostitute) and ourselves. When we put our hope in anything other than the Lord, we are committing adultery.

We also see that we cannot hide our sins from God- we cannot redefine them as “ok” (this goes back to our lesson on relativism), we cannot ignore sin, and we cannot pretend as if things never occurred- Ultimately they will become evident.

IV.            PART TWO

As we move into chapter 4, Hosea shifts his focus from his family and to his nation.

A.) Hosea 4:1-2

“Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: "There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.”

·        Missing Our Purpose

The people that God had created to shine as a light of truth to the gentiles had in fact become the source of darkness. How?

Faithfulness translated in Hebrew can also mean- Truth. This passage indicated that the people had failed to cling to the Truth.

The Christian life isn’t just about faith or knowing what is right and what is wrong- it is about faith that leads to good works- living an obedient life. There are people out there everywhere who claim to “love God,” but fail to live in truth.

James 2:20-22

“You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”

It is faith alone that saves, but it is the right kind of Faith. Don’t kid yourself in thinking “as long as I just believe it doesn’t matter what I do.”

• Modified Values

If we trace back through the generations of our own nation, of America, we can see how it is possible for our values and beliefs to be altered or forgotten over time.

The bible says that the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge- Proverbs 9:10- “Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding.”

As education of God’s standards is diluted, truth is distorted and sin begins to overtake a nation.

Can you see a trend in our own nation?

Prayer is no longer allowed in our public schools

We are encouraged to say “happy holidays” instead of Merry Christmas because it is incorrect to encourage one religion over another.

We are taught to be tolerant of all beliefs

·      Comparing Israel to American Christians

Going back to Hosea 4:2- we see that the Israelites were guilty of Swearing, Deception, Stealing, Murder, Adultery, Violence… are we, as Christians, as a nation guilty of these same charges? And if you would say yes… why do you believe we have allowed these things to become present?

When people don’t have knowledge of God- who He is, what He has done, and what His standards are- they are left to make up whatever they want about the Lord. In a way, they create their own “truth.”- this goes back to the idea of relativism.

** What are we doing to educate ourselves in the Word so that we do not become a victim of the darkness? **

V.            Closing Points- Don’t Miss This!

2 Timothy 4:2-5

“Preach the word of God. Be persistent, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to right teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear. They will reject the truth and follow strange myths. But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at bringing others to Christ. Complete the ministry God has given you.”

In our 11:11 service last week, Gary Thomas talked about Christian job descriptions. We were created to be “messengers.” It is our responsibility to share the truth…but many times, we want to play the role of the messiah. We want everyone to like and admire us, so instead of obeying Christ and speaking truth when things are wrong, we ignore sinful behaviors. We become more concerned with our own reputation (how we are viewed) than how God is viewed- so we miss our calling to share God’s truth!

As our society continues to walk forward into the dark, there is a responsibility for men and women that know the truth to STAND UP and speak it.

Where does God have you? Are you acting like a light in the Darkness? Questions I want all of you to consider this week:

1.)  How am I pursuing personal growth in the knowledge and understanding of God’s Word? Do I attend a bible study? Do I make it a priority to be in church with my community? Am I diligent to study on my own?

2.) How am I taking part in sharing God’s truth with others?

3.) When I stand before the Lord, will He recognize me as His messenger? Or as my own Messiah? 

Tolerance Leads to Relative Christianity

How many of you have enjoyed this year’s football season!? It has been an exciting year, full of surprising victories. You may claim that some wins (or maybe loses) were attained by certain calls made during the game. As a referee, their job is to throw flags when the players “step out of bounds” or play unfairly. You see many of these flags called during a game, however; you do not usually see the ref huddle the teams together to discuss the reason for a players actions: “Yah the player clipped the guy, but he is going through a really difficult time… so maybe, we should let this one slide?” No, that doesn't happen… because it is the ref’s job to make sure the entire game is played according to the rules. There isn’t a “grace” quarter.

As Christians, we called to do the same thing- not just in the lives of others, but more so in our own lives! We should have more of a right to throw flags when the people we love, or even ourselves are associating or partaking in unbiblical territory. However; we often ignore the “gray areas.” We make excuses for ourselves and for others simply because may be labeled: judgmental, prude, arrogant, or intolerant. But the Lord tells us that we are to speak the truth and not to fear, but throw flags out of love!

Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

In Second Peter, we are warned about false teachers and the tolerances so many of us have towards false teachings from our world.

2 Peter 2:1-3 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

I.                   Why does Truth Matter?

1.      Before you can identify what is false, you have to know and understand the truth.

                                                              i.      We often accept the lies to avoid conflict. (We ignore or fail to address the truth)

2.      We have a subtle belief that the truth is good, but it can be harsh & heavy.

                                                              i.      No one wants to share their true opinions on matters like abortion, pre marital sex, drinking, politics, or religion during thanksgiving dinner because you might spoil the turkey

3.      So maybe what we really need is a little less truth and a little more love

                                                              i.      But, we cannot pin the two against each other and see who wins, because they are really the best of friends. They work together to bring unity in the church

                                                            ii.      When you separate the two, you are actually causing rifts in the body.

Ephesians 4:14- Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

Tolerance (what Paul calls “child-like”) is the first step on our downward spiral.  Think of a child playing at the beach. Innocently, he decides to dip his feet in the water. The rush of the waves feel good crashing on his toes so he decides to go a little deeper, now at his knees, all the excitement pushes him to go further… out to his waste, then shoulders, then he is no longer standing. Eventually he realizes he is so far away from the shore and the current is too strong to swim back and he begins to drown in the water that once felt so good!

This is our fate when we down play the truth! We allow things to continue, even when we know it is not biblical or spiritually uplifting. It feels good and we often enjoy it so either we partake in the lies or maybe we are not participating, but we allow them to continue around us. Tolerance is the first step- this is right where the enemy wants us to be! We are so easily swayed by the latest guru, TV show, blog, or motivational speaker and when we are tolerant of the lies we see/hear, it is only a matter of time before we begin to believe them.

The opposite of Tolerance- Ephesians 4:13

As believers we are to cling to the truth and become mature in our faith.  We are called to love God with all your: heart, soul, strength, and with all your mind. Why: because, you cannot love what you do not know-

John Owen- “The good which the mind cannot discover, the will cannot choose, and the affections cannot cling to- the deceit of the mind is commonly laid down as the principle of all sin.”

Above all those matters, Truth matters because of Christ! “I am THE Truth.”

Truth is not just an opinion that varies from time to time, from person to person, but it is embraced in Christ and it can be believed on in Him! Peter urges us to know the Truth, to know Jesus as Savior! He warns us of the false teachings to come and of the naïve believes many people buy into!

II.                Marks of False Teachers/False Teachings:

1.      False Teachers will come from within (2Peter 2:1)

2.      False Teachers will secretly teach destructive heresies

                                                              i.      There is no disclaimer.

                                                            ii.      Greek word for Heresies is Heresies and it means opinion. Peter says- “destructive opinion”

Live in an age where the one thing you are entitled to, is your opinion. And we are taught to respect ALL peoples views- that one is no better than another.

                                                          iii.      There are wrong beliefs/practices (even within the church) and by ignoring, we bring destruction on ourselves.

We are all guilty of tolerating these destructive heresies. We become that child drifting out to sea because we tolerate or maybe even believe the lies our world tells us. We begin to play the “how far is too far game… how close to the line can I get without crossing it.”

3.      False Teachers will be appealing

                                                              i.      Once our desire to please the Lord is removed, our next “natural” desire is to please man. We are easily enticed by an alluring message.

                                                            ii.      2Peter 2: 14 & 17-19-

False teachers:

·         Seduce the unstable

·         Appeal to the lustful desires of the flesh

·         Entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.

·         Promise freedom while they themselves are living id depravity

·         People are slaves to whatever has mastered them!

False teachings tend to be more appealing when we are in the middle of difficulties- when we are more vulnerable. It is during these times that we find TEMPORARY comfort in the lies our world feeds us.

                                                          iii.      Why are false teachers attractive?

·         We can physically see them/feel them

·         The farther away from the lord, the less we feel the conviction from the Holy Spirit

·         We have an emotionally based faith!

4.      False Teachers will be bold, convincing, and fake

                                                              i.      Exploiters that use fabricated words.

                                                            ii.      Greek word for false= plastos (where we get the word plastic from) – They feed us “plastic words.” Words that can be fabricated or manipulated to suit a false/hidden agenda

III.             Modern Conditions: Lies we face today

With all that being said, I want to address this modern idea of relativism.

Relativism: Points of view have no absolute truth or validity. Having only relative, subjective value according to differences in perception, consideration, and opinion. Where in a relativistic mode of thought, principles and ethics are regarded as applicable in only limited context.

Example- In my Sunday school class this week, I blind folded some volunteers. I handed them a can of diet sprite. While blind folded, I asked them to describe/guess what they were holding and then convince the class that they were holding_____ (whatever it was they guessed). Both volunteers guessed a type of soda- one an orange soda and the other a Dr. Pepper. I asked our class… who is telling the truth?

Although they were both incorrect, they were telling us what they deemed to be true based on their perceptions. This is exactly how false teachers operate. False teachers or even false teachings are not always bad/evil. They often believe they are speaking the truth and many make it sound convincing.

Many times, they provide a partial truth. Just like this example, they were correct, they were holding a soda, but they did not know which type. The kinds they claimed to hold might feel the same in weight and size, but a diet sprite tastes completely different from an orange soda or Dr Pepper.

This leads us to the idea of Relative Christianity- This way of living/believing allows us to live almost a double standard life, where we pick and choose which part of the word we want to follow and which parts to ignore. I believe this is why so many non-believers are turned off to church. When we start to become a “relative” Christian church, we might contradict each other and I can see how it would be confusing. Heck- we even confuse ourselves! Our pluralistic society wants to avoid the idea that there really is a right and wrong. 

When the “I am glad that is true for you… but it isn’t true for me” phrase begins to seep into the church or in our lives, We will move away from biblical doctrine and move towards things more mystical that we can make personal to us. We make our own rules for the “gray areas” of life.

THE PROBLEM WITH RELATIVISM- Robs us of the truth of Christ and provides fertile soul for heiresses!

1 Peter 3:17-18

 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.