p; Refuse or Release & Receive
Tidbit Text: Romans 10:10 – "For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Whenever we hear the word salvation, the first thing that comes to mind is
deliverance from death and hell. Even though this is true, salvation is
actually the deliverance from evil, curses or danger (of which death & hell
are included).
In this week’s text Paul tells us that, "with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation." So by our mouths we can be delivered from evil,
curses and danger. How can this be? Well remember Zacchaeus confessed unto the
Lord, "Lord if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation I
shall restore him four-fold"(Luke 19:1-8). By his confession of
wrong-doing, he received salvation. When blind Bartimaeus used his mouth to
call out to the Lord, he was healed (Mark 10:46-52). When the leper came to
Jesus and said, "If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean," he was
healed. (Matt. 8:2)
We too can receive these supernatural releases simply through confession.
During the night that changed my life, the Lord spoke to me through one of His
prophets. He told me things that only He and I knew. He even told me, "You
hate So-And-So" and He even called that person by name. The Lord also said,
"You have hidden that hatred in your heart but it’s there." Now at
this point, I could have lied and denied but instead I just said in the
presence of my wife, this prophet and my Lord, "Yep, You’re right!"
Immediately after saying the words, I received a supernatural release from that
spirit of hatred. Right then! Not the next week nor the next month – Right
then!!!
Pride is what really throws a wrench into the simplicity of salvation. We
become too proud to say, "I am wrong and shouldn’t feel like this."
Instead of releasing pride we retain it. And when we knowingly retain those
ungodly attitudes and habits we actually REFUSE the blessings that God has for
us. In other words, we act just like spoiled brats who tell their parents,
"I don’t care" even when they know they want their parents’
blessings. Like them, we fold our arms and pout, shutting out even more
blessings. [1 Samuel 15:23 "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and
stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry".]
We really need to ask ourselves, "what’s so great about this sin or
hatred that we need to retain it?" We carry our sins/burdens around like
garbage through a land filled with beautiful flowers. Now, because our hands
are full, we can’t pick the flowers. And all the while, our friend Jesus is telling
us, "Put the bags down and let them go. Wouldn’t you rather have the
flowers?" Yet, we still carry those garbage bags of envy, hatred,
rebellion, malice and jealousy as though our names were Fred S-A-N-F-O-R-D
(period).
So to close, we will leave you with this statement: "Only Heaven
Knows!" If we decide to carry those bags instead of letting them go, then
only heaven knows what blessings we will lose. Therefore, don’t be
tight-fisted. Don’t RETAIN your garbage and REFUSE God’s goodness. RELEASE those
burdens and RECEIVE His blessings.
