Enjoyed what has been offered here so far and am inspired to add this piece more from what is being driven home in my personal walk with Jesus regarding my own written and spoken communications. We have yet an arduous narrow path before us to travel together.Let us as allies,strengthen and nurture one another with the spiritual milk,bread and meat as is needed,never forgetting to be full of the fruit of Christ's spiritual character for the balanced health of us all.
In regarding anger in communications..I would serve generous portions of patience..also known as longsuffering..this produces godly stamina and perseverance..gentleness and kindness here will also result in strengthening a more abiding brotherly love..without love for one another we will not be able to stand in the evil day. Impatience is a virulent poison that needs to be dealt with swiftly in every soul that would walk worthily of their true calling in Christ. The antidote is patience..be ready to administer this quickly when anger rises up either within you or in those around you..because the anger or wrath of man,rising up from frustration are born out of impatience..impatience comes from not being very interested in divine will to the point of consistant,surrendered obediance.
We are all under grace,who are in Christ Jesus..but this does not mean we are not subject to heavenly law. The highest law of God's heavenly kingdom,of which we are true citizens,is the law of love and liberty.Heavenly law is embued with divine authority...In divine love there is magnificent liberty,and we rightly rejoice in this...however I am made to understand that we do not fully grasp the responsibility that accompanies the gift of divine liberty..we take liberties with our freedom and insult the spirit of grace..why is this so prevalent? Because we are not surrendered in our liberty to the divine will.
In the previous post we hear the story of a zealous man of God being asked if he had been given permission to go do what he had determined to do.It was possibly one of the most life changing queries he'd ever hear. Do you have permission from the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is saying to God's people now and always..Do you have permission..is your zeal godly or of your own flesh..have you genuinely asked for God's will be done in this and every instance when you seek to share your point of view,irregardless of how many times you may have been given permission to say it in the past? Is this what you ought to be saying..doing..when was the last time you even asked?
What does God say about debate in general..when is contention and dispute going to be hated more than we love debate?
When we are in the Presence of Love Divine in the waiting,exercising patience..it becomes harder and harder to justify the words we were going to thrust onto the table of fellowship..are we motivated by our prideful knowledge or do we actually have a word from God Himself..one that He desires be spoken..are we prayerfully covering the sins of others before we are quick to speak..asking for the purifying fire to refine our thoughts, attitudes and words? Are we disciplined or lawless and willful?heavenly liberty does not transgress the highest law of love...it is one with it,inseperable.Be aware and beware,our words may be right but full of lawlessness in the saying them without permission.
The words of the Lord are pure words..purified..it is written..seven times in the furnace of the earth..Can we honestly say we have gone into surrendered prayer truly seeking God's will even two times to have what we would utter purified? Are we allowing our communications to fall to the ground and be buried so they can yield the precious fruit of righteousness,burying all opposing motivations in the furnace of the earth? This furnace is it the very core of the earth..and burns molten hot..how deep are we willing to go to be refined by the holy purifying fire at the center core of our own earthly nature?
This forum offers such a wonderful opportunity not presented in verbal communications..you do not have to feel pressured to answer someone's question,warranted or unwarranted rebuke or statements of belief immediately.Let me ask you something.Have you ever paused to pray silently in conversation with someone who is opposing what you know to be true? Have you not dared to hesitate lest this be seen as weakness and they might've pounced,or laughed you to scorn believing themselves the victor prematurely..so let them..in our weakness His strength is perfected.It is the same strategy God used against Satan when He paused to allow Himself be crucified..and the devil still falls for it every time..his pride blinds him to divine strategy time and time again.
If you won't bend to the higher authority what makes you think your words will cause them to yield? Granted, it is a very odd thing when you pause to seek God's face in a verbal conversation.This is a bold and courageous move and takes a crucifying of flesh to do so. It takes humility and self control to pause and acknowledge the Almighty..revealing your deep reliance on Him. However this is the moment when all self reliance can be put asunder and the Holy Spirit is given the opportunity to move upon them(and you) for conviction, persuasion and release of pure heavenly wisdom. In our own strength we can do nothing lest God empowers the moment. He will allow you to take the helm if you insist ,but surely His strategy is the better way..acknowledge Him consciously (albeit silently unless you are with a praying friend)..and see if He does not turn the tide for His kingdom's sake.
However, having planted that seed, I would go on to prayfully lift up this mode we are using here on this forum,which God watches over very closely. I am encouraged to assure you of this fact. His Spirit is very jealous for the loving, disciplined, developement of the communications here on SI, as in all our comings and goings. He desires this table to be cleansed from all of our fleshly leanings according to His express will.Jesus sits here at this table..do all that you do and say here as unto Him. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God..and without this reverential awe and yes, honest,healthy fear, we go astray,cheating ourselves and others of what ought to be the redeeming of this time...for it is short.
The opportunity we are presented with here is one of establishing a disciplined tongue,learning to take our thoughts captive,humbling ourselves in the sight of God and our brethren and being made into righteous scribes who resemble Jesus.
The distance provided here in this forum allows you time to come more consciously under divine will in your interactions..no one can hear you explode with indignation..Did this guy really say that?!!!No one can see you grimace and groan or pound the table in frustration, rise and pace around the house arguing against the other's obviously false interpretation ad nauseum..no you are blessedly hidden from view ..what a great mercy for us all..do not neglect so wonderful an opportunity to learn patient submission to God's perfect will.Take advantage of the practice this distance affords you..rise..push yourself away from the table,you need not even excuse yourself for we cannot hear you. I say leave the table because of our common impatience to return to the task. I challenge you to rise..disengage completely..leave the room ,go outside and sit in the quiet shade, perhaps, and then prayerfully consider what is on your heart before Him who is watching for your coming.This could take a few times before you are certain of the loving change and solid peace that fills you. Think of how this will effect not only your prayerlife but your communications as a whole..the verbal as well as the written.
This practice of surrendered obediance developes such a deeper work within the life of the believer than can hardly be fathomed even if it were described and is a wondrous training ground for those who would speak as though the very oracles of God.. as we are exorted to in Paul's writings if we are going to speak. Many wonder why they have so little authority. Jesus spoke and they could not gainsay Him..they were silenced in their illmeant questionings,instructed in their earnest ones and embarrassed in their being exposed for what they were. He spoke and demons fled terrified..spoke and the sick were cured..spoke and the storm was calmed,spoke and they believed on Him unto salvation.
What is it we are lacking..Divine Authority. Jesus said the authority was not even His,nor the doctrine He preached...Surely this is humility! He clearly said it was not His own,but the Father's who'd sent Him. Also, He only said the things He heard His Father say! Only did the things He saw His Father do! He was revealing to those who would believe in Him,the key to moving in true authority..actually doing the express will of God in every word and deed.Follow Me! Would we be like Jesus? Then we must follow Him in this most important way..it is His way..it must become ours as well.
Because this doing cannot be done of our own strength,lest we boast..we are reliant for the grace in which to become more trained in this..so we must ask for this ability to discipline ourselves under the mighty hand of God. We do not have? We need only ask..and in asking we exercise our faith in believing this is divine will for us or it would not be asked of us.You can know this ability has already been determined as a necessary provision. It is God's good pleasure to give us of His kingdom and has given us all things pertaining to godliness..it is ours for the asking..how badly do we desire to do God's will? How determined are we to obey Him? It takes effort to sit and pound these keys..how much effort are we putting into seeking and then doing first His righteousness,His Way?
This righteous love of God that waits for the divine will in determined,authentic, surrender empowers us to speak words seasoned with love's grace..else we will sound off,resonating as a clanging cymbal..making noise without the power to get accomplished that which God would send His word forth to accomplish. When we impatiently toss around scriptures,in our understanding of the knowledge of God and exalt our own timing,defend our questionable attitudes and ways above that which is perfect,that which has been lived out before us in the life of Christ Jesus,it as though we dishonor the pure word of God,when we handle it with the taint of our own impatient impure leanings.I am wondering if we could see the pure silver of God's treasured word,as a glorious lamp made so tarnished by our fingerprints..would we not spend time to polish it vigorously before presenting it for others to see?
