3.) The Face of Discrepancy

THE FACE OF DISCREPANCY

Can you imagine being in the front lines of a horrendous war?  Whether you liked it or not, you’d have to possess certain hatred in order to carry out the final and costly command to KILL THE ENEMY (Jn.12:25)!

You would not “find” yourself. You would lose yourself (Mt.16:25). If you felt sorry for the enemy, you’d pay the price of your own soul. A victorious warrior is trained to have a “killer instinct”. When it comes to the feelings and sentiments of his enemy his veins are as ice and his reactions are robotic.

 Can you imagine declaring war on your SELF?  Right now this sounds pretty ridiculous to you because you do not make a distinction between yourself and your personality. You consider your nature as your personality and this is why, my dear friend, the every day state of your affairs reflects one who is a prisoner of war (Jn.8:34).

Whether you consider yourself as someone close to God, or far from God, this book is written for any man to receive “LIGHT” (Jn.12:35-36,11:9,8:12). No man is exempt from the warfare of unseen powers (Eph.6:12).
DEPRESSION attacks everyone with the same outcome of anger, rage, lust and bitterness.  Depression sneaks up on you with one thought at a time. Loneliness and self-pity are its stepping stones. Even Paul, the apostle, had to grapple with this sly but vicious beast (2Cor.6:10,7:6). But Paul said something very strange. While he was alive and well, Paul said, “I died” (Phil.3:6/Rm.7:9). To understand such a thing you desperately need “LIGHT” (Jn.12:35). You undoubtedly think you know what’s going on inside of you but you don’t have a clue! It is pride that keeps you blinded. You are trapped in the front lines of a fierce battle, between God and Satan, for your soul, and you can’t decipher the codes unless you have the “light”.

There is no time to play games of self-pity and pretense. If you are not willing identify and KILL the enemy within then your life will be lost! This is the LAST of all battles! This is the of place decision called ARMAGEDDON (Rev.16:16/Joel.3:14)!

 You have no choice as to whether or not you are born with the enemy within but you have a choice as to how you deal with this enemy. You were born with the “mark of the beast” already firmly stamped in your nature. Your undesirable feelings and urges totally contradict the witness of truth in your conscience (Rm.2:14).

 Right now you think these urges are a part of your personality because you do not have “LIGHT” on the enemy (1Jn.1:5-6). You suppress things because you are embarrassed and ashamed that they actually dwell within you but it is this very pretense that allows them to remain as the powers behind your misery and destruction.

When the people of Israel were being attacked by poisonous snakes God told Moses to make a replica of the very thing that was biting them. Only those who made the painful effort to look upon it could be save from it (Num.21:9/Jn.3:14). You must face the very thing that you do not want to face. You must be willing to deal with the very things you want to ignore, if you don’t, you will never find God’s deliverance. Isn’t it bizarre that today this same symbol of Moses is used by the medical profession to symbolize healing?

 It wasn’t until the “Prodigal Son”, of Luke 15, had his face rubbed in the “pig slop” of his utter stupidity that his pride was finally broken and he was able to see reality, it broke his heart to see his sin and thus put him in THE perfect state to receive his father’s mercy (Ps.51:17). Your sin will always be your master until you allow yourself to be broken by seeing its depths. It will drive you to do and say things you never imagined you were capable of saying or doing. It has you bound and blind and you don’t even know it. There is a whole lot more to understanding sin and repentance than what you have been taught all your life.

Some people offer self-help books, formulas and gimmicks that depend on the strength of your will power to overcome depression. Some look to a religion or “church” and “accept Christ as their Savior” thinking all these struggles will disappear like a popped bubble. Some start “playing church” but when they see all the phony games they conclude there must not be any real answers. Many hang on to a pretense while slowly rotting away inside. The majority, look to drugs, booze, lust and wallow in the torment of deep depression and loneliness.

You may think your life is determined by various big-time decisions or by some outward circumstance or experience but the real direction of your life is determined by the hidden things. Things you refuse to face. You don’t even want to admit they exist in you. Laziness, boredom, lust and loneliness are the real driving powers deep within you that ultimately dominate and predestine your course on this earth!