Roses in the Valley – Self-Deception Series 6 – Purity 1095

Roses in the Valley – Self-Deception Series 6 – Purity
1095

Purity 1095 07/15/2023 Purity 1095 Podcast

Purity 1095 on YouTube: 

Good morning,

Today’s work of art that depicts roses in the
foreground of a range of mountains and a blazing sun casts its magnificent
light over the valley comes to us from “our man in the UK”, Philip Hand, who
shared this drawing that I have taken the liberty of calling “Roses in the
Valley” via FB messenger back on July 7^th.  Philip takes his inspiration from photos that
he has seen and reported that this work took 8 hours to complete.  I assured Philip that it was great, (not bad
for a day’s work at all) and promised him I would be sharing his work on the
blog. 

I shared Philip’s drawing this Saturday morning to
fulfill that promise and because Philip’s work inspires me to focus on the
beauty that surrounds us, even if we are in a valley.   Philip has shared previously that his art
and faith in Christ has been pivotal in overcoming struggles with grief and
depression and I encourage him to keep using his artistic talents because they
give God glory, and they give others pleasure and hope.  

While we never want to encourage anyone to live in some
forced Christian bliss state that denies reality, we do encourage an attitude
of gratitude and a perspective that seeks to see the Lord’s goodness in every
situation.  Unfortunately, this positive Christian
mindset or worldview is not typical even amongst believers and a big part of “our
ministry” is to encourage Christians to renew the mind with the truth of God’s
word and of who we are in Christ to develop the perspective and lifestyle of “walking
in the Spirit.”  

At the latest Celebrate Freedom growth group
meeting, I asked the members to “check in” by telling us what was going on in
their lives and to share “something that you have “victory” or “freedom” in”.  I love how our group has encouraged one
another to “keep it real” by being honest about what struggles or problems we
may be facing, but the idea behind our group – “a Christian recovery and
discipleship growth group” – is transformation and one of the key points that I
have laid out as what we are trying to accomplish is “changing our narratives”.  Based on one of the 4 Habits of Joy Filled
People, through these check ins, I have tried to have members “change their
stories” by

1.    Honestly reporting the circumstances of their lives

2.    Focusing on the positive aspects of their lives, even
in the midst of current struggles

I am subtly trying to encourage our group members to
see the “Roses in the Valley” and to, as Coursey and Warner say in the 4 Habits
of Joy Filled people on “storytelling,- develop a “positive narrative of how to
act like our best selves when facing upsetting emotions”.  

I have also encouraged the other 3 habits of “Calming”,
“Appreciation”, and “Attacking Toxic” thoughts.  

And  through our
efforts and the community that we have created, we have seen the fruit of peace
and joy grow as we have received stirring testimonies from some of the group
members. 

However, as always we are all a work in progress,
and this week my heart broke a little because a few of our group members are
not only struggling with difficult circumstances currently, but they also failed
to struggle to see the truth of some good things in their lives with one
questioning their self-worth as a parent and another who was at a complete loss
over “what their “victory” or freedom was in”.  
I “get that” of course when things aren’t great in our lives there is a
tendency to take the blame and condemn ourselves and when we aren’t “being our
best selves” we struggle to see any freedom or victory here.

Of course these negative attitudes are due to a
negative perspective which is based on a limited or negative focus, if not from
believing outright lies.   

And that brings us to our current series on Self-
Deception, where we have decided to investigate some of the ways we deceive
ourselves by walking through Step 2, Deception Vs. Truth, of the Steps to
Freedom in Christ to see what ways we may have been deceived by “the world” and
ourselves and in what ways we have wrongly defended ourselves. 

So we present the fifth “Way You Can Be Deceived By
the World”:

5. Believing that I can sin and suffer no negative
consequences. 

The scripture references for this point are:

Hebrews
3:12-13 (NLT2)
¹²  Be careful then, dear
brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and
unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.
¹³  You must warn each other
every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by
sin and hardened against God.

Okay, here
comes the “BOOM”.  

Nouthetic
Counseling, Biblical counseling seeks to bring the light of God’s truth into a
counselee’s life by confronting them with how their thoughts and behaviors are
contradicting what the word of God says and to point out some hard truths of a
counselee’s life as the root issues to their problems.   

Hebrews 3:12-13 tells us to be careful to
make sure that our hearts are not evil and unbelieving and to not be deceived
by sin.  

One principle that we can draw from
scripture is that “when we choose to sin, we choose to suffer”. So if we are
suffering, we need to look at our situation to see where our sin is.  The word of God is clear that we all sin –
some blatantly by disobeying what God’s word says (breaking commandments) or
failing to do the good we should do (not being thankful, not being forgiving,
choosing to not seek the Lord and find our purpose in His kingdom).  

So if a person says they are a “bad
parent” instead of consoling them immediately with positive affirmations to the
contrary, the Nouthetic counselor would ask why they would say that.  If the counselee reveals that their
assessment is honest because they are not doing what they should, the counselor
advises them to change their behavior. If they aren’t spending enough time with
the kids, they are told to do so. if the house is a mess, they are told to
clean it.  If their depressed state is
due to the consequences of poor decisions, from isolating themselves, or from
failing to be active and proactive to solve and avoid problems, they are encouraged
to stop making bad decisions, to engage with others relationally, and to “do
something” to change the negative circumstances that their inactivity has led
to.  

Persisting in “sin” – doing or believing
what is wrong or not doing or believing what is right according to God’s word –
naturally leads to negative consequences. 
So recognize the “sin” of what you are believing, not believing, or doing,
or not doing and confess your faults before the Lord and commit to surrendering
to His wisdom and will for your life.  

This wisdom comes from the very beginnings
of God’s word. The fall of man resulted from not properly believing and obeying
the Lord.   

After the fall, God counseled Cain about
his anger and depression in 

Genesis
4:6-7 (NLT2) where He said
⁶  “Why are you so angry?” the
LORD asked Cain. “Why do you look
so dejected?
⁷  You will be accepted if you
do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is
crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its
master.”  

You are accepted if you do what is
right.  So let’s do that.  We subdue sin and can be its master when we
believe what God’s word says, apply to our lives and do what is right.  

When we can’t see the “roses in the
valley”, we have failed to believe what God says about us or have failed to do
what He has said and the world is seen as a hostile evil place, in part because
we have failed to follow the Lord in Spirit and in Truth.  

So do what is right, believe what is
right, and choose to do that continuously. 
Yes the world can be hard, but Christ has overcome the world and when we
put our faith in Him and follow His example we can over come it too.  

——————————————————————————————–

Today’s
Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By
John G. Kruis.

(
While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick
google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late
author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )

This
morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Adultery:

While
our resource only shares Proverbs 9:17-18, I have made the executive decision
to share the whole passage on the “woman called Folly” to provide the complete
context.

Proverbs 9:13-18 (ESV)
¹³  The woman Folly is loud; she
is seductive and knows nothing.
¹⁴  She sits at the door of
her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
¹⁵  calling to those who pass
by, who are going straight on their way,
¹⁶  “Whoever is simple, let
him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense she says,
¹⁷  “Stolen water is sweet, and
bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
¹⁸  But he does not know that
the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Today’s verse falls under
the 15^th point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section
on adultery, 15. “Stolen water is sweet but… ”   

Yeah, “stolen water is
sweet…” but it leads death and hell!

Adultery and all sexual
sin (any sex outside of a marriage between one man and one woman) can be
exciting and pleasurable otherwise we would never do it and the porn industry
would not be the multi-billion dollar industry that it is.   Human trafficking would also not exist if
mankind did not have a desire to do what is desperately wicked.  People who preach sexual liberation have no
idea of the depths of depravity that the desire for “stolen water” or “forbidden
fruit” can enflame. 

As someone who formerly
acted on most of my desires to gratify my sexual desires, on my own if not with
a willing partner, I know all too well how all consuming sexual addiction can be
and when we give ourselves away to the lust of the flesh a part of us dies
inside as lose our innocence and disregard the wise counsel of God to reserve
sex for the expression of love and pleasure under a marriage covenant.  

So resist the seductive
man or woman and seek purity of God’s sexual ethics.  Putting our sex lives within the borders of
God’s provisions for sex, is an essential part of walking in the Spirit and rather
than experiencing the deadening effects of guilt, shame, and condemnation of
the enemy over sexual sin, when we obey the Lord with this intimate part of our
lives we experience the life giving fruit of the Spirit of love, peace, and
joy.   

———————————————————————-

As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.

Today we continue sharing from  The Holy Spirit By A.W. Pink.

As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage you all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own
private study and to support his work.  This resource is available online
for $0.99 (https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Spirit-Arthur-Pink-Collection-ebook/dp/B008CM5292/ref=sr_1_3?crid=AHKAQOM39CTN&keywords=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit&qid=1684376225&sprefix=a.w.+pink+the+holy+spirit+%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-3) 

A.W. Pink’s The Holy Spirit

13– The Spirit Convicting

The
Means of the Spirit’s Convicting: Use of the Law

The great instrument which the Holy Spirit
uses in this special work of conviction is the
law, for that is the one rule which God has given whereby we are to judge
of the moral good or evil of actions, and conviction is nothing more or less
than the formal impression of sin by the law upon the conscience. Clear proof
of this is found in the passages that follow. “By the law is the knowledge of
sin” (Rom. 3:20): it is the design of all laws to impress the understanding
with what is to be done, and consequently with man’s deviation from them, and
so absolutely necessary is the law for this discernment, the Apostle Paul
declared, “I had not known sin but by the law” (Rom. 7:7)—its real nature, as
opposition to God; its inveterate enmity against Him; its unsuspected lustings
within. “The law entered that sin might abound” (Rom. 5:20): by deepening and
widening the conviction of sin upon the conscience.

Now it is that God
holds court in the human conscience and a reckoning is required of the sinner.
God will no longer be trifled with, and sin can no longer be scoffed at. Thus a
solemn trial begins: the law condemns, and the conscience is obliged to
acknowledge its guilt. God appears as holy and just and good, but as awfully
insulted, and with a dark frown upon His brow. The sinner is made to feel how
dreadfully he has sinned against both the justice and goodness of God, and that
his evil ways will no longer be tolerated. If the sinner was never solemn
before, he is solemn now: fear and dismay fills his soul, death and destruction
seem his inevitable and certain doom. When the Lord Almighty Himself appears in
the court of conscience to vindicate His honor, the poor criminal trembles,
sighs for mercy, but fears that pardoning mercy cannot justly be granted such a
wretch.

Now it is that the
Holy Spirit brings to light the hidden things of darkness. The whole past life
is made to pass in review before the convicted soul. Now it is that he is made
to experimentally realize that “the Word of God is quick and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). Secret things are uncovered, forgotten
deeds are recalled; sins of the eyes and sins of the lips, sins against God and
sins against man, sins of commission and sins of omission, sins of ignorance
and sins against light, are brought before the startled gaze of the enlightened
understanding. Sin is now seen in all its excuselessness, filthiness,
heinousness, and the soul is overwhelmed with horror and terror.

Whatever step the
sinner now takes, all things appear to be against him; his guilt abounds, and
his soul tremblingly sinks under it; until he feels obliged, in the presence of
a heart-searching God, to sign his own death-warrant, or in other words, freely
acknowledge that his condemnation is just. This is one of “the solemnities of
Zion” (Isa. 32:20). As to whether this conviction is experienced at the
beginning of the Christian life (which is often though not always the case), or
at a later stage; as to how long the sinner remains under the spirit of bondage
(Rom. 8:15); as to what extent he feels his wretchedness and ruin, or how
deeply he sinks into the mire of despair, varies in different cases. God is
absolute sovereign, and here, too, He acts as He sees good. But to this point
every quickened soul is brought: to see the spirituality of God’s Law, to hear
its condemning sentence, to feel his case is hopeless so far as all self-help
is concerned.

Here is the
fulfillment of Deuteronomy 30:6, “The Lord thy God will circumcise thine
heart.” The blessed Spirit uses the sharp knife of the Law, pierces the
conscience, and convicts of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. By this Divine
operation the hardness of the heart is removed, and the iniquity of it laid
open, the plague and corruption of it discovered, and all is made naked to the
soul’s view. The sinner is now exceedingly pained over his rebellions against
God, is broken down before Him, and is filled with shame, and loathes and
abhors himself. “Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child:
wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in
travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great,
so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall
be saved out of it” (Jer. 30:6, 7)—such is, sooner or later, the experience of
all God’s quickened people.

Of ourselves we could
never be truly convicted of our wretched state, for “the heart is deceitful
above all things,” and God alone can search it (Jer. 17:9). O the amazing grace
of the Holy Spirit that He should rake into such foul and filthy hearts, amid
the dunghill of putrid lusts, of enmity against God, of wickedness unspeakable!
What a loathsome work it must be for the Holy
Spirit to perform! If God the Son humbled Himself to enter the virgin’s womb
and be born in Bethlehem’s manger, does not God the Spirit humble Himself to
enter our depraved hearts and stir up their vile contents in order that we may
be made conscious thereof?! And if praise is due unto the One for the
immeasurable humiliation which He endured on our behalf, is not distinctive
praise equally due unto the Other for His amazing condescension in undertaking
to convict us of sin?! Thanksgiving,
honor and glory for ever be ascribed unto Him who operates as “the Spirit of
judgment” and “the Spirit of burning” (Isa. 4:4).^[1]

—————————more
tomorrow————————

Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage
Breaker”, “Freedom in Christ” series of Discipleship Classes via the
mt4christ247 podcast!

at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts

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These teachings are also available on the
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Email me at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and
to be encouraged.

My wife, TammyLyn, also offers Christian
encouragement via her Ask Seek Knock blog (https://tammylynask.blogspot.com/ ),  her
Facebook Group: Ask, Seek, Knock (https://www.facebook.com/groups/529047851449098 ) and her podcast Ask, Seek, and Knock on
Podbean (https://feed.podbean.com/tammalyn78/feed.xml)

For those who require the assistance of a Deeper
Walk International Prayer Minister to experience healing or your freedom in
Christ, I highly recommend Christy Edge’s Life on the Edge Freedom Prayer
Ministry. You can schedule a session by going to : https://cedge216.wixsite.com/life-on-the-edge     

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Encouragement
for the Path of Christian Discipleship