Failure to Render to God What He Requires God requires that we consecrate ourselves absolutely to Him. He requires that we consecrate our wives and children to Him. He also requires that we consecrate our business entirely to Him. He requires that we consecrate all of our money to Him. Every Christian wants to save something for himself. But dear brothers and sisters, we have to realize that in the Old Testament there was the ordinance of tithing, the offering of one tenth; in the New Testament our consecration should be ten tenths. Our house, our land, our wife and children, and even ourselves must be fully consecrated to God. Many Christians are afraid that God will trouble them. There was a Christian who was very afraid of consecrating himself to God. He said, If I offer up myself to God, what will happen if He sends sufferings to me? I said to him in a serious way, What kind of God do you think our God is? If a disobedient child becomes yielding and tells his parents that he will be obedient to them from now on, do you think that the parents will purposely ask him to do what he cannot do? Do you think that the parents will make him suffer on purpose? If they do, they are no longer his parents but his judge. If they are truly his parents, they will surely care for their child. Do you think that God will give you sufferings on purpose? Do you think that God will play tricks on you on purpose? You have forgotten that He is your Father! Brothers and sisters, only those who are consecrated to God have real power. They can place their business in Gods hands. They can place their fathers, mothers, wives, and children in Gods hands. They can place their money in Gods hands. They will not take what God has given to them and waste it in the world. They have consecrated even their own lives to the Lord. Those who are afraid of consecrating their belongings, their material goods, and their relationships with others to God have not yet overcome. The more one consecrates to God, the more strength one has. Those who willingly consecrate to God almost seem to encourage God to take more. They seem to say to God, Please take more! The life of consecration is a joyous life. It is a life of power. If a man does not consecrate himself, not only has he sinned, but he is also lacking in power. Regarding Iniquity and Refusing to Repent of Sins That Should Be Confessed Many people have dealt with many things, but in their heart they refuse to admit that the things they have dealt with are sins. According to Psalm 66:18, these ones regard iniquity in their heart. Their heart loves these sins; they are unwilling to relinquish them. Not only is there a desiring, there is the loving, the regarding, and the unwillingness to relinquish these sins. There is a hidden love toward sin, a heart that refuses to acknowledge the sins as sins. Although we would never admit our love for these things and although our mouth would never say that we crave these things, our heart goes after them even before our feet follow after them. Many times, sin is not a matter of outward behavior, but a matter of love in the heart. If there are iniquities that we regard in our heart, we have to overcome them. Many people not only have a heart for iniquity, but they also refuse to acknowledge many of their sins. A believer often offends a brother. When the matter is brought to his attention, he readily admits that he has offended the brother. Consequently, he makes some outward adjustments; he begins to treat the other brother better, shakes his hand in a warmer way, and receives him more affectionately. Brothers and sisters, the most we can do is change our attitude, but God does not recognize this. God does not recognize changes in our attitude. Many things require restitution. Money needs to be returned. Although many people do not have the time to listen to our long stories, we still have to confess our sins. Concerning confession, the Bible never says that we should tell others of our sins in detail. The Bible never tells us to enumerate our sins like a novel. The Lord says, If your brother sins... (Matt. 18:15). It does not matter how many sins there are. When a brother comes to us and confesses, Brother, I have sinned against you, we have to forgive him. Many hidden stories need not be told. No ear on earth is worthy of listening to all these stories, and no ear on earth could bear them all. Brothers and sisters, how many sins do our hearts still cherish? How many sins are left untouched? If there are any sins, we have to overcome them. Unless we overcome, we will not be able to prevail over these sins. OVERCOMING IS NECESSARY AND POSSIBLE Brothers and sisters, if you find yourself with the sins mentioned above, surely you need to overcome. I do not know how many of these eight different sins you commit. Perhaps you commit only one or two. Perhaps there are more. But God will not allow one or two or more sins to entangle you. You may observe a few flaws in a brother, detect other blemishes in another, and find a few other shortcomings in a third. But brothers and sisters, it is wrong to have so many mistakes. It is unnecessary to have these mistakes. We should thank and praise the Lord that all sins are under our feet. Thank and praise Him. No sin is so great that we have to commit it. Thank and praise Him. No temptation is too great to overcome. The life that the Lord ordains for us is a life of uninterrupted fellowship with God. Every Christian can carry out the will of God, and every Christian can be completely free from his natural affections. Every Christian can overcome sin completely, and every Christian can overcome his disposition. Every Christian can consecrate everything completely to God and be delivered from the love of sin. Thank and praise the Lord. This is not an idealistic life. It is a life that can be fully realized. BEING HONEST AND NOT DECEIVING OURSELVES We have to pray to God that we do not deceive ourselves. God can only bless one kind of people—those who are honest before Him. In Philips preaching, we see that as soon as the lying before God stops, His blessing will follow. We have to say, O God, I have lied to You. Forgive me. When we pray this way, the Lord will immediately bless us. Brothers and sisters, perhaps we have said, O God! satisfy me. But we have to realize that those who are dissatisfied are not necessarily hungry. In order to be satisfied, we must be hungry. When the prodigal son left his father, he wasted everything and longed to be satisfied with the carob pods that the hogs were eating. No one gave him anything. This is being dissatisfied. Some are dissatisfied daily and filled with carob pods in their stomach. It is one thing to be dissatisfied; it is another to be hungry. How can we be satisfied when we are weak and constantly failing? Although we are not satisfied, we fill ourselves this way and we live this kind of life day after day. What we need is not only dissatisfaction but also hunger. The Lord can only bless one kind of people at this conference: the hungry ones. God does not promise to fill up the dissatisfied ones. Brothers and sisters, let us stop all the lies. We have lied to God long enough. Brothers and sisters, we have failed! We have failed before God! Confessing before men in this way is a glory to Gods name. Thank and praise Him! All those who are honest will be blessed. Thank and praise Him! I believe many will meet God this time, and God will bless them.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 07:48:14 +0000
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