Breakthrough

Recently, I read – “One Word – That Will Change Your Life” by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page. As I read, I realized that these past few years I had been doing what the authors of this book encouraged all their readers to do – allow The Spirit of God to reveal just one word to meditate on this coming year. Last year my word was – breakthrough. In being a compound word, this was actually three words in one. Last May, I first began praying by asking The Spirit of God to bring a breakthrough here at WBC. There was one particular morning when I got to where the pulpit was and I knelt down and began to pray, that suddenly my mind was filled with these words – let this breakthrough first begin in you. It was then that I began praying and meditating upon the two words that make up this compound word. Lord, I must be broken in order for you to fully rebuild me into Your image. Only then, can I allow You access and a way through to my innermost being. I must allow Your Spirit to search me and reveal to me any thoughts or actions that are not pleasing to You. David prayed a prayer like this in Ps 139:23. He ends this chapter with the next verse: And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting [:24].

The last Sunday of 2024, I preached through David’s most popular Psalm – 23. In it, he writes: deliver us from evil. This is God’s overall purpose for each one of us. In fact, God sent His Son (as a Deliverer) on a “search and rescue” mission to this earth. Jesus proclaimed in Lk 19:10 – For The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” When David prays to God - lead us not into temptation and then prays – but deliver us from evil, he was teaching us to pray preventative and prescriptive prayers.

Lead us not into temptation is seeking The Spirit of God preventatively, by allowing Him to purify and provoke our hearts to long for Him more and more each day. The more we long for Him, the less we long for sin. The more we are devoted to Him, the less we are devoted to sin. We must be diligent to remain faithful by choosing God’s presence over the things of this world. But there will be times when we allow ourselves to be overcome by temptation. That’s when we need His prescriptive care – deliver us from evil. This involves both His forgiveness and His cleansing -- If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [1Jn 1:9]

There are two kinds of 'evils' in this world – those we do and those which are done against us. There are patterns of sin that become evil because we have allowed ourselves to be overcome by them. “Evil” can also be translated – evil one (obviously referring to Satan). In reading Job 1-2, we see that the ‘evil one’ “can” be behind those acts that God allows him to levy against us. Consequently, ‘evil’ can involve what we choose to do, other people or just life circumstances (illness, death of a loved one, or any calamity).

There can be evil ‘within’ us and evil ‘against’ us. We can be overcome by those longings within us that lure us further away from God’s presence. We can be overcome by the evil that is thrust upon us by life circumstances. And we can be overcome by the ungodly acts of others. Any of these can provoke within us grief and sorrow that can lead us away from our Deliverer. Perhaps this is one of the main reasons we were given the book of Job – to reveal to us how the adversary and life circumstances can operate and at the same time, reveal how our Father is sovereign over any of the evils that may come our way. 

This is why each of us need The Spirit of God to break through…each day. His Word can teach us and His Spirit can convict us to allow Him to be who HE says HE is – Emmanuel…God With Us.

Dear Lord -- provoke us to pray and live out – Your Kingdom come and Your will be done…to seek Your Kingdom and Your righteousness. Your Kingdom represents Your sovereign authority and Your righteousness is our response to that authority. May Your grace and Your Spirit empower us to allow Your plan to play out in our lives and in the lives of those around us. As we do, we will not be overcome by any evil. Instead, we will overcome…because You have made us more than victors! And we will be and we will remain - successful survivors of Your search and rescue mission. Now, that’s a breakthrough!