Attitude of Defeat

Years ago, while pastoring a church in Illinois, I offered my help with a local pig farmer.  I can tell you, that the smell of a pig barn is awful.  But by the end of the day, the barn didn’t smell as badly.  So after a long day, I was walking into the house when suddenly I heard my wife exclaim, “Don’t you take one step into this house!”  I didn’t tell her I was coming home, but that was not necessary because she could smell me from outside the house.  Needless to say, those clothes were thrown away on that day.

We have been looking at the barriers that stand between us and God.  The sin itself is absolutely the issue.  It can be like stinky clothes that we get use to the smell over time.  But the Bible doesn’t just give us a list of do’s and don’ts.  But it points us to how we can take off the stinky sinful clothes, it and instead tells us to put on “the clothes of righteousness.” ()

Let’s review some of the attitudes we have discussed that get in the way of our relationship with God.

Attitude of Presumption – We presume that God’s grace will forgive, and so why worry about doing wrong.  “I will continue to sin, because God will forgive me anyways.”  Imagine if children did this with parents.  To intentionally do something knowing that the parent will accept the child as theirs.  But our relationship should lead us to want to say “No” to sin because of our love toward our Heavenly Father.

Attitude of Secrecy – If no one sees, if no one is aware, then it is OK.  But this can lead us to think that God is misguided.  It isn’t hurting anyone, right?   reminds us that God sees everything, even that which is in our secrecy.  The other part of this is that sometimes people hide away the hurt and regret from other people, and think that it will be OK.  But by locking away those wounds away, it will result in a barrier in the same way.

The last attitude we are looking at is the…

Attitude of Defeat

This is where we have experienced constant apparent failures in life, and we then begin to blame God.  But this is the ultimate lie of the enemy who will get you to believe that God doesn’t care about you, and that you are destined to fail because of Him.  But , we are reminded that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  But this assumes hardship to which we need strength to overcome.  But the accuser will try to get you to doubt God, and wants you to live outside that relationship.

Everything is grounded on the truth of God’s truth.  But the accuser will up his game on pointing out the failures of God’s people.  That they are not worthy.  But God rebukes that message, and points to the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.  And even when I fail, God does not fail.  He is faithful even when we are not.

It is difficult to understand God’s forgiveness.  Its difficult to see how we can be forgiven knowing the sin against Him.  It takes us living in His word, and living a prayerful life.  We started this conversation by understanding prayer life.  We must be in communication with the Father because we are not an island.  We are connected to Him.  It is hard because we have to let go of what we think is ours and give it to Him.  It means to become vulnerable.  But we have to listen to the voice of God, because if we don’t we will start listening to the word of the accuser.

Can we do that?  Can we take God at His word?