Moving from confession to obedience

Pastor Asa Dockery of World Harvest Church North in northern Georgia delivered an awesome, timely word from God today.  He said,

There will come a time when we must move from confession to obedience.  There will come a time when God will begin to set boundaries for you.

The title of the message was “What Happens After the Fast?”  Our congregation just completed a 21-day fast.  The temptation for many is to return to previous habits or addictions, but that is not what God wants for His people.  A fast should draw us closer to God and promote us to a new level of obedience.  I loved the entire message (which you can listen to if you click on the link above), but here are a few key points that I took away.

In Genesis 2:15, God instructed Adam and Eve not to eat a particular food and if they disobeyed, they would die.  You know the story.  They did and they died; both spiritually and physically eventually.  In the same light, when God speaks to one of His children and He tells us to abstain from something and we do not obey Him, it brings spiritual death (and maybe physical death) to us.  WOW!

I was blown away by this powerful word.  Did you know that food represents the desires of this world?  Adam and Eve lost their birthright to Satan, but in the wilderness, Jesus took it back from Satan and handed it to us after the Cross.  Still, Satan continues to tempt us with food and habits and addictions, when the Holy Spirit is trying to set boundaries for us that will guard us against death.  Today, my eyes were opened to yet another deception of the enemy and how he works through the lusts of our flesh to seduce us.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION FOR MY LIFE

I am a Certified Nutrition Counselor.  My years of experience has taught  me that food restriction alone does not produce any lasting change.  Diets fail.  People are miserable and I have known in my spirit that suffering is from Satan and is a spiritual matter.  Years ago, I told God that until He showed me the truth from His word about how to help people walk in obedience regarding destructive habits to our holy temples, I would not counsel anyone.  Today, my mind was totally transformed by this word and God clearly showed me His Truth in this area.

GOD’S GRACE IS OUR STRENGTH

Paul asked God three times to remove the thorn in his flesh.  God told Paul that His grace was sufficient; for in Paul’s weakness, God’s grace was made perfect.  Instead of looking at grace from the riverbank, we need to step into middle of the river, where we cannot walk and where the God’s grace becomes our strength in our weakness.  When fasting or abstaining from something that God has spoken to you about, when you are weak, remember that is when God will carry you through with His strength.  And when the battle is over, you will emerge victorious.

Grace becomes strength through our obedience to God!  How divine.  I have been set free from years of bondage!  Thank you Jesus.