(Further reflections on “Fulfilled & Awakened”—Sunday 15-Aug-2021)
Following Christ starts with our salvation (being saved from eternal damnation) by faith in Jesus. But it does not stop there. It continues with the journey of sanctification, a process of being made holy (which is not climbing a ladder but drawing close to Him intimately). Following Christ means wholeheartedly believing in Him, trusting His word, being planted in His Body (the local church), and living out His gospel for everyone who believes in the work of Jesus at the cross, repenting of his/her sins and beginning to “walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires (Romans 13:11-14).” This lays out some practical steps for us to find victory in Christ over the power of sin/darkness.
#1. The first step is to walk in ‘daylight’, meaning, we are not trying to hide anything from God and from others. The idea is that people behave differently when they are alone or not being seen by public eyes. Oftentimes, people sin because no one sees. For example, with one look (unrepentant) king David ripped off his own life, family, other's families, and the kingdom/nation that God entrusted to him. One (computer) mouse clicked to a wrong site led an innocent yet naive school teacher to jail and broke his family’s hearts because of his online pedophilia activities. Repeated watching sensual materials/media will slowly desensitize our soul (mind, will, and emotion), cripple our spirit, numb our body, and eventually desecrates our life, which is supposedly a ‘living sacrifice’ (cf. Romans 12:1-2), holy and acceptable to God (which is our spiritual or proper way of worshipping God).
#2. The second step is to be specific about our sins. Name it to Jesus. Do not keep it as a secret (I have discussed elsewhere differences between secrecy and privacy. Briefly, secrecy is toxic while privacy is healthy). This means someone (who is spiritually matured and wise in God’s word) you trust needs to know what you are struggling with, so that they can journey with you (praying with you, listening to your cries/pains, sharing God’s word to you, and keeping you accountable). In this way, you ‘dispel’ the Devil’s age-old powerful tactics of ‘lying/deceiving, isolating/dividing, and destroying/conquering’. As we see, the apostle Paul listed out specific areas of darkness: (a.) orgies (drinking parties involving unrestrained indulgence in alcoholic beverages and accompanying immoral behavior); (b.) drunkenness (from social to feeling-lonely drinking that brings the heart/mind under its influence); (c.) sexual immorality (from fornication--pre-marital sex to adultery; for a fuller list, check Leviticus 18:1-30); (d.) sensuality (behavior completely lacking in moral restraint, usually with the implication of sexual licentiousness—‘licentious behavior, extreme immorality’) which can be anything from sexy photos or enticing gestures to provocative moves/dances or nudity (regardless how artistic/innocent or even angelic they might be) to soft/hard-core pornography.
(e.) quarreling (conflict resulting from rivalry—‘strife’) which can be sometimes noticed in a kind of argument that blended with personal attacks or vendetta and usually they are not even close to the core major teaching God’s word in Scriptures.
(f.) jealousy (a particularly strong feeling of resentment and jealousy against someone—‘envy, jealousy, resentment’) which sometimes can be cloaked under a fun passing joke, i.e. ‘I am jealous with you’ which essentially says, ‘I want what you have. God is not fair.’ As I recalled of a number of Christian friends (including the former pastor of this church, now my friend Dr Eric Dooley) who know Jesus and the Bible well, I never heard them saying (even once), “I’m jealous/envious with you/someone” or “I covet your prayer”—which I personally/biblically distaste the way of putting the two words, ‘covetousness’ (which is a sin) and ‘prayer’ (which is a sacred relationship/conversation with God), in the same sentence as a spiritual expression/request. #3. The third step is a two-fold ‘K.O. punch’ against the power of darkness: (a.) Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Think of this as putting on a ‘super cloak’ that empowers you on the road to have victory in Jesus. Whenever sin tainted our life, His blood cleansed our sins, covered us with His forgiveness, and purifies our life as we continue to live/walk in Him and His word. (b.) Make no provision for the flesh (sinful nature: the lust of eyes, the lust of the flesh; the pride of life) and do not gratify its desire. Dare you to give ‘an inch’ to the Devil, he will take ‘hundred (at least) miles’. Sin has always covertly appeared innocent and enchanted. All it takes is one doubt or one bite or look or one touch that disregards God’s instructions or despises Jesus’ work on the cross and His living word or dismiss His presence through fellowship with His Body—the local church.
Now since following Christ starts with Jesus, it will also end with Him. This means we need to ‘walk properly in daytime’ with an ‘endgame’ that is Jesus Christ, our Lord in every aspect of our life and Savior who saves us from sins and inclination toward darkness, who is the first and the last; the beginning and the end; the Alpha and the Omega, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty (cf. Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13). Come, Lord Jesus. Have mercy on us.
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Pastor Lap
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