A Path To Freedom - Part Seven

Good Morning Family!

Oh what a blessing it is to look upon all your smiling faces today!
Praise God!

Heavenly Father, 

We thank You for your Word and for the eternal truths that guide us each day. We thank You most of all for the living Word, Jesus Christ, and the sureness of His presence and Your Holy Spirit. Teach us, O Lord, how to turn to You when our thoughts begin to guide our lives, so that Your thoughts may be our thoughts, and Your ways our ways. Help us to become more like Christ, gentle and loving in all of our ways.
In Jesus' Name
Amen

"He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Mark 14:35-38

The message of this verse:

Many people are greatly confused by this verse.

Some believe, Jesus wanted to escape death, when He was actually asking the Father not to allow Him to die in the garden, as Jesus knew in order to fulfill the prophecy in Scripture, to reconcile us to God, He must be crucified, for the payment of sin is death, Jesus said that anything He asks The Father to do, The Father will do it, John 11:41-42. If Jesus was asking The Father to not let Him be crucified, there would be no atonement. Jesus knew all along that He was going to die and He knew why, if Jesus was actually asking for The Father to not allow Him to be crucified, it would mean that Jesus’ will is in contradiction to The Father’s will. Jesus trusted that The Father could bring Him back from the dead even if it was His will that he experiences a pre-crucifixion death, much like how Abraham trusted that God would bring Isaac back if it was His will that he would sacrifice Isaac on the alter in Hebrew 11:19. This is a very important lesson for us to: trust in God and submit to His will. He knows what
He’s doing.

Secondly, Jesus' message to His disciples was, Can't you stick it out with me for even a single hour? To stay alert and pray, so that you don't fall into danger, without knowing it. Don't be so naive!
Part of you is eager to serve God, willing to do anything, but the other part, the other part is lazy!

Today, in the seventh part of our series A Path To Freedom, I'll be talking about maintaining momentum.

Why is it important to maintain momentum?
So that our initial efforts are not in vain.

We want to avoid a “RELAPSE”
Which is falling back into a self-defeating position..

How does a relapse happen?:
Complacency
Confusion
Compromise
Catastrophe

What can cause us to RELAPSE?
Reverting to our sheer willpower.

"Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?"
Galatians 3:3-4

Another reason for RELAPSE is ignoring one or more of the steps!

"You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump."
Galatians 5:7-9 

Yet another reason that can cause us to RELAPSE is trying to recover without Support. The support of others is important, someone to "catch us" when we fall so to speak..
Scriptures says,

"Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken."
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

"Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Matthew 18:19-20

One of the biggest problems that can cause us to RELAPSE is PRIDE! 

"Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.

Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly,
Than to divide the spoil with the proud."

Proverbs 16:18-19

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."
1 John 2:15-17

So how do we prevent a RELAPSE? 

Set aside time daily for God, for self-examination, reading the Bible, and prayer, in order to know God and His will for your life and gain the strength and power to do it.

"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Mark 14:38

Evaluate yourself often:

There are 4 kinds of Inventories to Evaluate:
Physical inventory: Is some injury or sickness causing me to stress out?
Emotional: Am I hurt?, Am I exhausted?, Am I Angry?, Am I resentful?, Am I tense?
Relational inventory: Who is in your circle? Family, friends, co-workers, fellow church members..
Spiritual: Ask yourself, am I as close to Jesus as I could and should be?

When should we do this:
We should do a daily brief spot check in our devotions: simply ask God to check you over
We should all do an annual checkup that is more extensive: something along the lines of an annual extended fast and prayer journey.

In closing...

We live in a culture today, that loves benefits!
Isn't that true?
Uh hm, I heard that and I won't even go there.. 
(grinning)
That's a message in itself, best kept for another day. 

Psalm 103:2 says,
"Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits."

We need to take advantage of the benefits of meditation in God’s presence:
In the busyness of your life, slow down long enough each day, for just a few moments, to hear God's voice!

"Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither; 
And whatever he does shall prosper:"
Psalm 1:1-3

"Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You."

Psalm 119:11

We become people of sincere prayer!
"But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."
Matthew 6:6-7

Church, this would be a fantastic time for us to enter into our prayer closets and seek the Lord: and if you are here right now and need some spiritual and emotional healing:
The Healer is in the house!
Jesus is here to heal and restore you right now.

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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Brian Monzon Ministries