I WILL (Part IV)

I WILL (Part IV)

As we begin today, let’s reprise Kingdom Principle Number Four: Your will cannot remain aligned with God’s will if you dialogue with the devil.  The Bible describes Satan as “more subtle than any,” and this statement constitutes a sober warning against entering into communication with him. (Genesis 3:1)  Consider this.  Communication is the very heart of communion (intimate fellowship).  A friend of mine often points out the fact that long-term married couples have a tendency to physically resemble one another, eventually.  One day, he asked me “why?”  I responded with a smile and said, “They eat the same diet, they share the same living environment, they engage in the same conversations which results in an eventual alignment of thought processes and worldviews.  Why wouldn’t they wind up looking like one another?”  We laughed together in agreement.  There is an important life lesson embedded here.

In the memorable words of my high school health and physical education teacher, Mr. Arthur Feldman, “You are what you eat!”  While my teacher was speaking of natural health, the same principle pertains to spiritual health.  Our will is a powerful amalgamation (a potent blend) of every life experience that we “eat,” that is, whatever we continually digest and internalize.  Therefore, our will (which is the foundation for all our choices and decisions) is the primary determiner of emotional and spiritual health.  If we would be transparent enough to reveal what we have been ‘eating’ lately (intellectually, emotionally, spiritually), any discerning person could tell us how we will be ‘thinking’ and ‘deciding’ and ‘acting’ in the future.  Wow!  Our will is in a constant state of flux because it is the product of our personal interactions with life experiences and our unique responses (reactions) to them. 

Kingdom Principle Number Five: the human will CAN BE adjusted when we choose to transcend our circumstances via a close encounter with Jesus Christ.  Because we human beings are creatures of habit, we tend to follow familiar pathways that I term ‘life momentum’ – unless and until an outside force compels or empowers us to do otherwise.  First natural, then spiritual.  Newtonian law informs us that “for every action, there is a reaction, equal and opposite in direction.”  To wit, Jesus Christ is the ‘outside spiritual force’ that graciously seeds sufficient faith in order to change our thinking, to energize us, to mobilize us and to totally recreate our being. 

Spiritual case in point: It seems unfathomable to us that the man at the Pool of Bethesda had actually been laying there (paralyzed there…stuck there) for 38 long years!  But such was the case.  Periodically, an angel “troubled the water” and the first person to enter in would receive complete healing. (John 5:4)  This man’s will had been negatively altered by his associates and, indeed, by his environment.  According to John, he was surrounded by “a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered” individuals. (John 5:3)  However, these powerful impediments only constitute healing opportunities for the Living Lord!

Therefore, “when Jesus saw him…and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he said unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6)  Christ’s question is pivotal to understanding our proactive participation in the healing process.  The healing of this man’s long-term handicap would be directly predicated upon his will to seek and embrace wholeness.  But instead of answering Jesus directly, this crippled man offered excuses: “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another person steps down before me.” (John 5:7) 

Jesus graciously ignored his excuses and took authority over his will and his infirmity with these Words:  “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” (John 5:8)  Kingdom Principle Number Six: The Word alters the will.  This fact should motivate all believers to become steadfast students of the Word for our daily attitude adjustments.  Perhaps, it will cause us to glean a deeper interpretation of Psalm 107:20, which declares “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”  THE WORD WORKS!

In the aftermath of that lame man’s personal deliverance, some took strong exception to the fact that Jesus Christ had healed him on the Sabbath.  They were more concerned with legalism than deliverance.  A word to the wise is sufficient: ‘Never ever allow anyone to define either your will or your personal experience with the transforming power of Jesus Christ.’  I love the fact that Jesus did not argue with the religious naysayers.  His response was simple: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” (John 5:17)

Always maintain openness and allegiance to The Living Word.  He is the One and Only true attitude adjuster.  And that is why “I WILL…bless The Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Psalm 34:1)  Amen!

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!