 |
FORTRESS ZION---Paul Strieby |
|
|
PAUL STRIEBY
LINKS
|
At Rest Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:2,3 NIV) What a blessing. To be hidden in Him. In fact, it says to be hidden WITH CHRIST in God. What better place is there? Along with this new chance of life, I feel an urgency from God to walk in the fear of God – to realize that what I have could be gone in an instant if it were not for His grace. I have felt these opportunities before, but did not walk in the fear of the Lord. I didn’t know how. Without having a healthy ‘fear of God’ you tend to disrespect or disregard what God has done and at times step back into the old because it feels good – thinking that God will forgive and that He would understand. Well, God does understand! His understanding goes so far beyond ours that what we think God is thinking is far from Him. Oh Yes, He understands – He understands that when you are given an opportunity that you don’t look back – that you take it and run with it as fast as you can. To hang around at the starting line – To hesitate is death – To hesitate is to judge God’s goodness, His goodness only needs to be acted upon! Don’t go BACK!! Don’t relax your guard. In fact – Increase your guard! Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off
your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which
is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there
is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian,
slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. (Colossians
3:9-11 NIV) God opens ‘windows of opportunity’ for us now and then. His drawing will only last a short time, then fade away. Take hold and hold tight! Run to the goal as fast as you can. Don’t let reasons or man’s thinking hold you back – throw pride away. Most of the quest of my life has been to fill this void in my soul left because of a poor father figure. At its root, this feeling and need were pure. Then came the perverted young man that had selfish intent and was able to scoot into my life. I saw it as someone that cared. Someone that would spend time with me. I saw it as the love that I was so desperately needing. He saw an opportunity to self indulgence – to feed the un-holy side of him. To feed the lust that was in his heart. I could not discern – he did what he only knew to do – to survive by taking what he wanted. It cost him his life (he did about 10 years later), it cost me my purity, my innocence. But God is able to fix and repair over time. Blessed be His name!
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served
created things rather than the Creatorwho is forever praised. Amen.
(Romans 1:25 NIV) This evening I reflect back on this day with great joy. For the first time out of years I felt free today. My thoughts rarely wondered and I could feel a new love for my wife welling up within! I am realizing this evening that all those thoughts were truly NOT MINE! The demons that were injecting them are gone far away. What a tremendous hope today gives. I believe a real key to being set free is on the part of the person in bondage. What if some one had prayed for me a few years earlier? Would I have been freed then? Probably not. I did not believe we could be oppressed in such ways and my walk with Christ was very very poor. If you don’t have the desire to be set free, the discipline to obey and the fear of God – YOU ARE NOT READY to be, nor can you be freed. I had to be sick and tired of the sin and be thirsty for Him before I was ready. My mind still has the memories but the pull is no longer there! I feel NORMAL today. Thank you, Father; thank you, Jesus. I will walk in the fear of God – I will not let go of this freedom – I will not go back. I feel like I had an opportunity back in 1973 – I felt normal for a short period. Sex drive switched to normal etc. I was foolish and kept fantasizing – it came back. Thirty-two years later I have this chance again. I will not let go of Him! So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. (Galatians 5:16-17 NIV) So, what is the key to overcoming? Is it to live by the Spirit? Is it to be more disciplined? Is it to
pray? Is it to confess to others? Is it to humble yourself before God? Is
it obedience to God? Is it listening to God? Is it to stay away from evil?
Is it to develop a relationship with God? Is it to be one with your
brothers? Is it to be one with God? Is it to cast out demons that oppress?
Is it doing the will of God rather than your own? Is it to live in the
fear of God? Never Look Back It is a new day and I am still Free! I still feel Normal! I need to NEVER LOOK BACK in the fear of the Lord – NEVER LOOK BACK – Never test yourself or tempt yourself – this is not wisdom. Take hold of the God’s newness and run with it. God still does miracles! The demons that were so close are now far, far away. It’s like I can barely see a glimpse of them on the horizon. It is like God is pushing them back more and more. Oh Lord – I see now that what we think can and is influenced by demons. The absence of them is the difference between night and day, unredeemed and redeemed, unsaved and saved. Teach me to see the what and why of this so I can help others become free. The biggest temptation is to prove that God has actually done something. This has been with me for so many years that you tend to accept that it will never be healed – Then when God touches us, we, in unbelief, want to test and challenge it. NOT ME! God, I accept your gift. Help my faith grow- Help me see even deeper into YOU. Help me to throw off earthly reasoning, close my eyes and dare to see things as you see them. God says "I have created you from the beginning – I am making you a Son. I love YOU" I think it is, again, important to say that to be free of this junk you must want God in all and through all – you must be in His fire where NOTHING of me matters – MY WILL MUST NOT EXIST. I believe that this is why the work seems so fast – God has had me humbled before Him and desiring His will only and throwing off any and all things that were not of Him – THEN, Brother Thompson’s message opened my eyes to see that demons are truly there. As I then began to see them in the spirit, I was repelled and repulsed. I did not realize that this could happen to a Christian – even to believe and see demons at work! Then, as my eyes were opened more I was able to see what was really happening and was able to write about it – I wanted to be free. Brother Thompson, after I shared my struggle, prayed for me over the phone. It was almost a forty-five minute call. Since that prayer I can feel such a peace. I was seeing the demons pushed back to a distance of a few miles. Then yesterday, God put a new spark of love in me for my wife – what a precious thing. – I believe that my heart was ready for this – it was thirsty for this – it would die for this – so when God pulled the demons away then suddenly the freedom that I had been crying for was realized ! What I am trying to say is that God had emptied so much stuff from my life prior to this miracle, that once God moved then what He had been putting inside me came to the surface as soon as the oppression lifted. Kind of like holding a beach ball under water. As you add more air to it, the more it wants to come to the surface. The demons were holding it down until God removed them, letting the ball free. If the ball had NOT BEEN INFLATED, then to remove the oppression would have little effect! We must BE READY FOR GOD’S WORKING- ready for healings – ready for miracles. No wonder that we see people prayed for all the time with no lasting effect. Readiness is AS IMPORTANT AS THE MIRACLE! God had to wait to free me until I was desperate for the freedom – otherwise it would have no effect and mean very little! What about purging of the memory? We remember so much. Think about it like this – As we discipline ourselves to refuse to bring memories to the surface and to entertain them, then, over time, they fade. So, is not God timeless? How many things do we clearly recall from age 10? Only the things that we keep refreshing. Every time we refresh a memory, good or bad, it strengthens it in our memory. It is said ‘we forgive but we don’t forget’ – well God would say ‘given enough time, you will forget if you choose to leave it behind’. So, why do we get upset with God for not erasing all our memories? Are we trying to bring God and His ways down to our level? He has already put a built-in mechanism in us to forget, it just takes time and discipline. Without a relationship with God, Forget it! (excuse the pun). We tend to want something NOW without doing hard work for it. We allowed all this to come into our eye and ear gate – so now we need to keep shoving it aside and not giving room for it to be refreshed! You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. (Romans 2:1 (NIV) God "will give to each person according to what he has done." [ a] To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. (Romans 2:6-8 (NIV) It is so easy to pass judgment. First remove the sin from your life before stepping into someone else’s. We must have relationship with others before we can speak into their lives. Just like God and our relationship with Him – He waits for your hunger. He waits for your thirst. Then, as relationship grows and you trust Him, He is able to speak into your life! Be persistent to pursue God – to pursue Holiness – to pursue relation with God – He wants to make us Sons! Another thing- There must be a difference between being fearful of God and having the fear of God. Back in the late 70’s God had put some fear in me that He could suddenly release me into deep sin with no return – I could feel almost an uncontrollable urge to be in sin – almost as if any opportunity of perverseness were to be in my path that I could fall into it because of no self control. Well, I think that made me fearful of God but I really didn’t have much of a relationship with Him at that time and was foolish. I could not understand the fear of the Lord. I could only be fearful. But I am sure God used it as part of my growth. The fear of the Lord is WISDOM. It recognizes His mighty position and power. At the same time we have respect for God and have relationship with God. To be fearful of something does not require relationship. To have the fear of the Lord you must have relationship with God. To be fearful has the connotation of being afraid of something unknown or to be fearful of the unknown. When you have relationship with God, then things are NOT UNKNOWN. You know – You understand – you love – God loves – you have a knowing that what He says He will do. Is this not the kind of relationship we are to have in the family? Relationship must come before discipline, otherwise you are just promoting fear. After much thought this morning – I see the new creation as this. When we are born, God gives us Life – we have a soul that is sinful (contains our personality etc) and a spirit that desires to be one with its creator. Our spirit is like a homing device that will lead us there if we listen. As we hear of Christ crucified and we accept his sacrifice, then the seed of Faith (Christ) is planted in us. As our spirit communes with God’s spirit (Holy Spirit), then God causes this Faith to grow within us. As the Faith grows, our spirit becomes alive by the Life of Christ – it puts the soul and body in submission to our spirit. We are now, or becoming, a new creation - A creation that puts down the flesh - That sees the lust of the flesh for what it is and steers away from it. This new creation is not instant, it is something that grows. Only God can cause it to grow (1Cor 3:6-7). For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building To be God’s field, we plant the seed of Christ crucified – we water the seed – we look to God by His Spirit to bring growth to the seed! To be God’s building, we build our life, and help others build their life, on the foundations of Christ (1 Cor 3: 10-11). What a picture ! It is NOT by wisdom that we are saved - It is NOT by understanding that we are saved. It is ONLY BY THE LIFE OF CHRIST WITHIN US (FAITH) THAT WE ARE SAVED !! But to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the POWER of God and the WISDOM of God. (1 Corinthians 1:24 NIV) Then, this new creation – this Faith – this seed of Christ that God grows, is the Life of Christ – is the POWER of God – is the WISDOM of God. With these things within us we become overcomers through Christ. Its NOT like we are suddenly given power or have power to overcome (almost like something from outside of us) – NO – It is the POWER of God within us, through Christ, as we give ourselves as a living sacrifice to Him. It’s NOT like we suddenly become holy and pure – or our sins covered over by Christ’s blood. It is, however, God’s wisdom to live righteously and walk in Holiness – thus producing righteousness and holiness as FRUIT. It is God’s wisdom to teach us how to be overcomers – to subdue the flesh and its desires. It is God’s wisdom that drives us to be holy before Him. To be a new creation is to enter a process – a journey – to renew the mind, one thought at a time – to reclaim what was given over to the flesh. It is a process of listening to God’s voice – to His wisdom – Then, by His power – by the Life of Christ within, you deny the flesh – You obey – You obey His voice – You obey the voice of wisdom. It does not happen over night – It is, by nature, a New Life. Nurture it, feed it and God will make it grow. Listen to God and obey Him and use the gifts He has given (Power and Wisdom) – Then you will live as an overcomer by the Life of Christ within! Penalty Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creatorwho is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. (Romans 1:24-27 NIV) Part of the penalty is that it blinds you to the truth of God. In fact, it replaces God. You end up serving the creation rather than God who made us. In this evil perversion, one is lead to believe that you are helping self – that you are being who you were created to be. ALL A LIE! Since perversion justifies itself, there is little hope outside God of anyone breaking free of it. Once a person is locked into it, then more and more perverse things take place. There is NEVER an end to how perverse something can become, So they go deeper and deeper – become blinder and blinder – become subject to the sexual diseases that come with perversion – this is their penalty! Perversion is NEVER satisfied! There will always be a new way to perform a dirty task – always a new way to fantasize about something or someone – Never ending – always leading you into deeper sin. I Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! I do not want you to be ignorant of this MYSTERY, brothers, so that you may not be CONCEITED: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:22-25 NIV)As far as the gospel is concerned, they (Jews) are enemies on your (Gentiles) account; but as far as election is concerned, they (Jews) are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts (to the Jews) and his call (to the Jews) are irrevocable. (Romans 11:28-29 NIV) Oh, how we has taken this last verse OUT OF CONTEXT! This MYSTERY that Paul is talking about involves God removing Jews (the promised ones) from their vine – cutting them out because of disobedience – And grafting us (Gentiles – from a wild olive root – maybe even a sapling) into the Jews vine IN THEIR PLACE. Paul is saying all this so the Gentiles won’t take pride in being chosen and put in PLACE of the Jews. It becomes clear that God’s plan included the hardening of the Jews hearts so the way would be opened for the Gentiles – otherwise, belief in God would be considered a Jewish religion only. But God still loves the Jew and has promised them many things, as the chosen people, that were not aimed at us (Gentiles). Yet even in the hardness of the Jews, God is saving the Gentiles and in turn will bring the Jews back. NOTHING TO TAKE PRIDE IN – Don’t take pride that someone was removed so you could be grafted in ! Grafting usually takes place by removing a shoot, leaving a small stub there, then grafting onto that short stub – in essence, it is a Jew that you are grafted to because he was not completely removed – TAKE NO PRIDE IN THIS! And – on top of this, Paul is saying that God’s gifts and callings to the Jews were irrevocable! TO THE JEWS! - Look, even when they are cut out of the vine, part of them must remain for you to be grafted onto! That is irrevocable! So the very verse that is trying to tell us not to be ignorant and conceited has been taken out of context to be a point of pride to say that once a preacher or layman receives a gift or calling, that, even if he falls away from God, that those gifts will still operate because they are irrevocable! Why even quote the verse! It is only because of Him that we live and breathe. For from him and through him and to him are ALL THINGS. To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:36 NIV) We live because of Him – we preach because of the Life that is within us. We move in His spirit because of His Spirit being alive within us. NOT BECAUSE OF SOME GIFT OR CALLING THAT CAN NOT EVER BE REMOVED. Does the body boast about having 2 feet or hands to work? – Those would be considered irrevocable. God’s gifts and callings fly on the wings of our obedience to God. The body does not boast of its feet and hands, which belong to him – How much more should we NOT BOAST OF GODS GIFTS AND CALLINGS, which are not ours, but belong to HIM! As Paul continues into Chapter 12, he says "Do not think of yourself more highly THAN YOU OUGHT!" So, today, are you boasting and taking comfort in a gift or calling that God gave 20 years ago, yet wonder why you don’t feel His presence any longer? IT FLEW AWAY… Jews demand miraculous SIGNS and Greeks look for WISDOM, but we preach Christ crucified: a STUMBLING BLOCK to Jews and FOOLISHNESS to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the POWER OF GOD and the WISDOM OF GOD. For the FOOLISHNESS OF GOD is wiser than man's wisdom, and THE WEEKNESS OF GOD is stronger than man's strength. (1 Corinthians 1:22-25 NIV) What a beautiful picture I see in the verses above. (The colors indicate the thread that Paul is showing us) The things, the ways of God are above our ways. God does not give us what we want. God gives us what looks powerless and foolish. Why? GOD WILL NOT BE FOUND in our flesh or by our flesh. Our old nature tries to make sense of it all through our own reasoning and through what is familiar. It is seeking something of power and wisdom to overcome the evil all around so to live in peace and prosperity and power. But then Paul preaches about the opposite – Pick up your cross – Be crucified with Him – Death to self and its wisdom – All that is being preached goes against what we are looking for. Jews want to see power – To see a savior come and save them from oppression and troubles - To rule and reign over the world - To use His great power to put under their enemies. Greeks want to see wisdom - To reason it all out and understand it all with their minds - To enlighten themselves but not to be enlightened by God. So, to preach that we must loose our lives to live, is foolishness. To preach that there is great power in His spirit – To preach that God’s son came as a servant to the CALLED is a stumbling block. GOD WILL NOT BE FOUND through our souls trying to search it out through our own wisdom and understand and the need to have power and be in control. GOD is only to be found by putting to death the old nature, being alive in Him and trusting Him in all things. There is no worldly power or wisdom in this - Only God’s foolishness and weakness, which is wiser and stronger than ours. Even today in the churches – the message preached by most of "God’s CALLED" is false and misleading. They see part of what God is saying – enough to get their foot in the door – but they preach a gospel that is powerless to overcome foolishness. God’s CHOSEN ones are able to see and hear! How do you get there, you may ask – Seek Him with all your heart – Do not lean on your own understanding - Spend lots of time with Him – Develop a relationship with God – Desire Him – Crucify the flesh and its deeds – Discipline yourself to be righteous – Walk in holiness. To see God, we must do the things that are contrary to our human nature – Contrary to our comfort zone – Contrary to our reason. IF we want to be called His, then we need to BE LIKE HIS – In our actions, thoughts, beliefs and purposes. To the degree that you develop relationship – That you spend time with Him – That you sacrifice your will and desires – Is the degree to which you will understand and operate in God’s power and God’s wisdom. In trying to define how we draw close to God, I can see that once I started to spend one to two hours in the morning with Him that I could see and hear! So, does this mean that this is THE KEY? It is certainly A KEY. But many a scholar has spent hours, days, years, reading and studying God’s word in order to understand what is being said. So it is not simply the time, but relationship - Seeking with the heart – not the mind. The desire to know Him and be with Him - NOT the desire to know OF Him. One is external to ourselves and the other dwells or abides within. The CHOSEN of God abide IN HIM in ALL WAYS. The CALLED of God abide WITH HIM, which almost makes it there, but renders them powerless to overcome their foolishness. The poem ‘Footprints’ is for the CALLED – NOT THE CHOSEN! We are warmed by the thought of two sets of footprints in the sand and how God is walking WITH US. Then to see only one set and we become sad – then we realize that it is because God is carrying us and it is His footprints – This warms our heart because He is not only WITH US, but Holding us! However, The CHOSEN only have one set of footprints in the sand at ALL TIMES, because God is IN US (not with us) and US IN HIM. Our feet are His, and His feet are ours! As I look upon my life I see my footprints in the sand of time – growing and learning. Then I see two sets of footprints as I accepted Christ as my savior – He walks with me and keeps me for a long time and through many hardships. But then it goes back to one set of footprints. However, the impression in the sand is much lighter, relaxed and at peace – For I know now that God is much more than WITH ME, but IN ME and I IN HIM. He has redeemed me – I am changed through His Power and Wisdom – My step is lighter because His yoke is easy. I am more relaxed and at peace because I have overcome, through His power, the foolishness within. -- This is the poem of the CHOSEN ! Oh, how I desire the Body of Christ to be a functional Body. How can we make it in these times without the strength of each other? Have we become so accustomed to this self-centered, self-pleasing, do-it-on-your-own society that we cannot see that God made the human body in His image (all parts working together) in order to live? The Body of Christ is made in this way also (all believers working together in harmony and peace) in order to overcome. So that there should be no division in the Body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the Body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12:25-27 NIV) This speaks of relationship. This speaks of oneness. Not just relationship and oneness with God, but with EACH OTHER! Paul says that if one part suffers, then all the parts suffer with it. Even if you think that oneness in the Body is not important, you suffer also. "How can that be?" you may ask. "I can maintain my relationship with God by myself." Paul says in first Corinthians 12:15, that even if you say you are not part of the Body, maybe because you want to be a part that you are not (a foot instead of an eye), you would not for this reason cease to be part of the Body. If you have accepted the message of Christ crucified and have submitted yourself to God in all things then you ARE PART OF THE BODY whether you like it or not! Your victories are shared -- your complacency is felt -- your joy is uplifting -- your sin drags us down. The life you choose to live in solitude with God and away from the Body slaps God in the face: It is the Body of Christ that you are turning your face from and in essence, God. We all want to see revival today. We pray for revival. How is it even possible when the Body is dysfunctional? So, does God still save? Does God still deliver? Yes! But I personally fall many more times than I would have to because of the dysfunctional Body. I thought, at first, that all I had to do is be stronger in God to overcome. But I feel the pain and suffering and the dysfunction of the Body. It is like one of the feet saying, "I am going to walk in holiness now, yes, I will stand, I will continue," but the rest of the Body yanks me back to where I don't have the strength to overcome! Now don't get sidetracked into thinking that I have turned my dependency from God to man. That would be fatal. The main point that I am trying to convey here is that we, as parts of the Body of Christ, are all suffering in part because of each other's failings whether we acknowledge it or like it. This suffering is meant to draw us closer together so that we may eat of each other, that we may be overcomers together, that we may strengthen one another, that we may love one another -- WHAT A CONCEPT! What is oneness in the Body, you may ask? Oneness is NOT: Attending church, serving on the board, teaching Sunday school, going to Bible study, giving money to the church. Oneness in the Body IS: Being transparent with the brothers, confessing openly to the brothers our problems. Don't be afraid to open up the past before them. Be humble. Spend time encouraging each other; be "in the trenches" with them. Spend time with God. Listen to God. Obey God. One way lets us be a member of the church or an isolated Christian at home, and have no real relationship with other believers. We stand alone. The other way: We stand alone in our relationship with God but we join in oneness with the Body to gain and give strength, to help and be helped in struggles, to comfort and be comforted, to help others overcome and be helped to overcome. Friends and brothers, we must give all to God, follow His will, put to death all that may take us away from Him, pick up our cross daily and follow Him. But in our journey, we must acknowledge and be the part of the Body that God has made us. We must be one with our brothers in like fashion as we strive to be one with God. To say that you are one with God and not one with your brother does not work! That is a lie. God is in you; God is in your brother. Christ is in you; Christ is in your brother. To separate the two tears at the essence of God Himself. We, as brothers, are in desperate need of each other. Would not the race go smoother if the team (Body of Christ) would work together? Or are we all charging up to the summit alone not stopping to help the weaker along? I Corinthians 13:7 says, "It (Love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres". You say -- This is an impossible task! Well, are you doing all you can? Nothing will change unless ALL OF US do what God is telling us to do. I must spend time with those brothers that God has put me with. If ALL OF US were to follow this one thing, we would change the world. One brother influencing another, one brother in oneness with another. After time, the Body will function as its parts stand up and say, "Go this way." "Walk in holiness." "Spend time with this person." "Spend time with God." We are bought, paid for by the Body of Christ -- crucified and risen. Let us be that New Creation of Christ within us (Christ within you, Christ within me). Part of you is in your brother and part of your brother is in you. Be one with God … Be one with your brother.
|
|