{"id":11874,"date":"2018-10-12T15:26:16","date_gmt":"2018-10-12T19:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toolsofrenewal.com\/?p=11874"},"modified":"2018-10-12T15:26:16","modified_gmt":"2018-10-12T19:26:16","slug":"set-yourself-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toolsofrenewal.com\/?p=11874","title":{"rendered":"Set Yourself Free"},"content":{"rendered":"

Life Isn’t a Disney Cartoon<\/em><\/p>\n

I love confirmation.<\/p>\n

In “Christianese,” or the jargon of charismatic Christians, “confirmation” is what happens when you think God is doing or saying something, and then you get independent corroboration. For example, during your morning prayers, you get a strong impression that God wants you to spend more time in confession. Then later in the day, a Christian friend calls you and starts telling you about a revelation he received about confession. That’s confirmation.<\/p>\n

I few days ago, I wrote about the importance of confession. I wrote about the way your prayers can be hindered by refusing to confront sin and iniquity. I said pride kept people from getting healed and so on.<\/p>\n

A friend of mine who is not a Christian posted a familiar scripture in the comments: “God is near to all who call on him.”<\/p>\n

The problem with the comment was this: you have to read the whole Bible and consider it when you look at individual verses. Otherwise, you get the wrong idea. <\/p>\n

Imagine this. You buy a band saw. You want to know how to turn it on, so you read part of the manual. The part you read says to flip the “ON” switch. You flip the switch, and nothing happens. What went wrong? You failed to consider the page that said to plug the saw in.<\/p>\n

God is in the business of answering prayers and helping people. When he doesn’t answer, it doesn’t mean he just didn’t feel like it. He is honest. He has promised to answer prayer, and he means it. Either you asked for something you should not have asked for, or something blocked the response. God is near to all who call on him, EXCEPT for those who have problems that put him at a distance or motivate him to close his ears.<\/p>\n

I started looking for scriptures one should think about in addition to the one about God being near, and in a few minutes, I had posted a large collection.<\/p>\n

I’ll repost the scriptures here. I doubt you’ll ever hear Joyce Meyer or T.D. Jakes mention them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThough the Lord is on high,
\nYet He regards the lowly;
\nBUT THE PROUD HE KNOWS FROM AFAR.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cBecause I have called and you refused,
\nI have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
\nBecause you disdained all my counsel,
\nAnd would have none of my rebuke,
\nI also will laugh at your calamity;
\nI WILL MOCK WHEN YOUR TERROR COMES,
\nWhen your terror comes like a storm,
\nAnd your destruction comes like a whirlwind,
\nWhen distress and anguish come upon you.<\/p>\n

THEN THEY WILL CALL ON ME, BUT I WILL NOT ANSWER;
\nTHEY WILL SEEK ME DILIGENTLY, BUT THEY WILL NOT FIND ME.
\nBecause they hated knowledge
\nAnd did not choose the fear of the Lord,
\nThey would have none of my counsel
\nAnd despised my every rebuke.<\/p>\n

Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
\nAnd be filled to the full with their own fancies.
\nFor the turning away of the simple will slay them,
\nAnd the complacency of fools will destroy them;
\nBut whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
\nAnd will be secure, without fear of evil.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIf I regard iniquity in my heart, THE LORD WILL NOT HEAR.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cBehold, the Lord\u2019s hand is not shortened,
\nThat it cannot save;
\nNor His ear heavy,
\nThat it cannot hear.<\/p>\n

But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
\nAnd your sins have hidden His face from you,
\nSO THAT HE WILL NOT HEAR.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
\nAnd His ears are open to their cry.<\/p>\n

THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL,
\nTo cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.<\/p>\n

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
\nAnd delivers them out of all their troubles.<\/p>\n

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
\nAnd saves such as have a contrite spirit.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThen the Lord said to me, \u2018Do not pray for this people, for their good. When they fast, I WILL NOT HEAR THEIR CRY; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cBecause of the multitude of oppressions they cry out;
\nThey cry out for help because of the arm of the mighty.<\/p>\n

But no one says, \u2018Where is God my Maker,
\nWho gives songs in the night,<\/p>\n

Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth,
\nAnd makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?\u2019<\/p>\n

There they cry out, but HE DOES NOT ANSWER,
\nBECAUSE OF THE PRIDE OF EVIL MEN.<\/p>\n

Surely God WILL NOT LISTEN TO EMPTY TALK,
\nNor will the Almighty regard it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cTHE THOUGHTS OF THE WICKED ARE AN ABOMINATION TO THE LORD,
\nBut the words of the pure are pleasant.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cTHE LORD IS FAR FROM THE WICKED,
\nBut He hears the prayer of the righteous.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWhen you spread out your hands,
\nI will hide My eyes from you;
\nEven though you make many prayers,
\nI WILL NOT HEAR.
\nYour hands are full of blood.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cGOD RESISTS THE PROUD,
\nBut gives grace to the humble.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYou ask and DO NOT RECEIVE, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHusbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, THAT YOUR PRAYERS MAY NOT BE HINDERED.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wow. That’s pretty clear. <\/p>\n

When things go badly for you, there is always a reason. God has promised he will do whatever we ask in the name of Jesus, provided it comports with his will, yet many people go down in flames while praying in the name of Jesus. Does it mean God lied? No, it means we do things that interfere with his help.<\/p>\n

Look at the Old Testament. What do you see? People get in trouble. They consult God. He tells them what they’re doing wrong. They repent. God fixes their problems. It happens over and over. If there are any examples of people who pleased God, living in defeat over the long term, I am not aware of them. The Jews under the Egyptians were idolatrous. The Jews who had problems with the Philistines were idolatrous. The Jews who were taken to Babylon were idolatrous. You won’t find examples of people who behaved extremely well, living in defeat their entire lives and then dying in misery.<\/p>\n

I’m not saying people who are faithful to God don’t have problems. They are attacked in various ways, and they have a tendency to die as martyrs. But an upright person who isn’t ignorant will be able to defeat most attacks and will not live in subordination over the long term, and there is a difference between martyrdom and failure. <\/p>\n

Jesus was a complete success, yet he was martyred. That was his choice. It wasn’t a defeat. He sent Judas to turn him in. He waited for the high priest to come and take him. He prevented his armed disciples from defending him. He refused to mount a legal defense. It was time for him to go, so he went. Jesus suffered for a single day, by choice, but we have no record of him suffering even once before that. We never see him work. We never see him get sick. We never see him injured. He never even loses an argument. <\/p>\n

There is no record of Jesus ever losing, but then he never did anything wrong.<\/p>\n

Many holy men in the Bible suffered. Paul got beaten and stoned. Elijah had to run from Jezebel, who worshiped devils. Paul and Elijah weren’t perfect. They were like us. They made mistakes, and surely those mistakes gave their enemies the upper hand from time to time. Paul had issues with pride. Elijah ridiculed the prophets of Baal instead of standing by with humility. It makes sense that things went wrong for them on occasion, but in the end, they still prevailed.<\/p>\n

Think about David. His infant son died, and this was a punishment from God. It was predicted. David prayed and fasted, but his son died anyway. It wasn’t because God doesn’t answer prayers. It was because David’s sin closed God’s ears. David murdered Uriah and had sex with his wife.<\/p>\n

The Bible says God himself killed David’s baby.<\/p>\n

I spent a good part of this morning throwing out music CD’s and related books I felt were coming between me and God. I should have done it decades ago. I chained myself to demons, and then I prayed to God, asking him to free me from their attacks. I was under a delusion. I was like an unfaithful wife who still expects her husband’s support. God did an awful lot for me, in spite of my rebellion, but some strongholds refused to budge.<\/p>\n

The Hebrew word translated “iniquity” in the Bible means “crookedness.” Think of a tree which is bent as it grows. When you cut it and try to straighten it, it always springs back to its bent shape. It’s like the lady Jesus healed; the one who couldn’t stand straight. When you cultivate iniquity, you put habits in yourself, and they act like springs. When you try to do what’s right, you can’t sustain it. The force of habit, which is driven by demons you invited, eventually overcomes you.<\/p>\n

Iniquity and habit are the same thing.<\/p>\n

By holding onto cultural garbage, I reinforced and protected my iniquities. I gave new power to the very things I was asking God to take away from me.<\/p>\n

I used to say my dad would be my last unequal yoking. When he prayed for salvation, I thought I was through. I was wrong, because I was still yoking myself with the world. The ridiculous music I had collected was a yoke. Fortunately, it’s a lot easier to throw out a CD than to abandon a father.<\/p>\n

I was thinking about this today while I looked at Youtube. I was looking for Christian material. I found some. There’s something interesting going on in Sweden, of all places. Europe is an atheist\/pagan stronghold now, so it’s amazing when anyone there supports God. There is a movement called The Last Reformation. Charismatic Swedes are going around praying for people, baptizing them with the Holy Spirit, and so on. <\/p>\n

They have some Youtube channels, and today I looked at one to see what was available. I saw a title: “Our sins hide Gods face, so that he cannot hear us.” Okay! That sounded good. Then I looked at the date: October 10. Two days ago. One day before I got agitated about the music.<\/p>\n

That’s what confirmation looks like.<\/p>\n

I’ll embed the video here. I think you’ll like it. If you’re humble, I mean. If you hate advice and think you already have all the answers, it will make your stomach hurt.<\/p>\n