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It was a hot Sunday in the middle of summer and the church was packed, unusually so. It was 1977, and services had typically been well attended, but for months our choir was missing the best soprano probably in the entire state. The closest thing to a celebrity in our book, Deborah had a voice like nobody’s business. She was so talented and constantly performing in some play or musical. She got pregnant out of wedlock in her sophomore year while attending a local college. According to the bylaws of the church, she could not sing in the choir, or participate in any other ministry, unless a public confession of sin and an apology to God and the members was made. Her refusal to do so became notorious, and on the Sunday that it was rumored she’d finally decided to come before the congregation, folks came out of the woodworks.
Sin is dark business, and it can be no secret to us that shame is one of its companions, but our Master Jesus has delivered us from the dominion of sin, and where there is shame, he brings liberty and grace. In John 8, he was teaching in the temple and of course a crowd gathered. The Pharisees brought in a woman that had been caught in an adulteress act. During biblical times, a woman was usually stoned to death for such an act. The scribes and Pharisees were wicked and wanted to use this woman to goad Jesus Christ into an argument. They were devilishly arrogant, and tried to use the Law of Moses concerning sin as bait to trap our Lord and Master, but he knew their hearts. The Pharisees were zealous for the law, and were particularly so when it came to adultery. Although they, themselves, were not free from it, they tried to stand in judgment of it; that’s a useless cause.
John 8:6 tells us how cool Jesus was during yet another plot against him. He stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. The Pharisees must have been incredulous at his matter-of-fact manner, and verse 7 (NLT) tells us, “They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”” Our Lord and Master did not come to condemn, but to forgive. His instruction to the woman was “Go and sin no more.”
Many of us carry the shame of our mistakes or poor choices. We do not have to do this because our Master Jesus has settled the sin issue entirely. He took care of it on the cross, so that you and I can do exactly as he told the adulteress woman, “GO! And don’t pick up the broken pieces that sin has left behind ever again.” The thing is, many of us do pick them up again…and again…and again. We try to put those broken pieces of sin and shame back together and make a life with them. Won’t work!
‘GO!’ is a very simple command. It means get busy doing what you’ve been tasked to do. Executing this simple command is where many of our lives fall off the rails, because we don’t know how to get it done. We think it means that we should execute the agenda we’ve set for ourselves. We have a routine, and for most of us, it’s packed. We have a million things to do and not enough time to do them. So, if the sinful thing brings us a little bit of pleasure in the middle of all the chaos we’ve got going on, some of us cling to it, and forget about the ‘GO!’
In the face of all that we have to get done, some of us let the words of Jesus, ‘sin no more’, fall to the wayside, and we become stuck in the molasses of self-condemnation or judgment from others because we’re choosing to put ourselves under the weight of sin. When this happens, answers to prayers elude us, confusion and chaos ensue, and we can’t seem to get ourselves marching in the right direction. CRITICAL TRUTH: The thing that we absolutely must come to grips with is that we are incapable of setting the path that our destiny requires us to walk. God’s Will must be done, because this is the thing He rewards. Our routines matter very little when it comes to what matters to God.
‘GO!’ = GOD’S OPERATION = Follow the example of Christ and pursue the Will of God!
God’s Word is His Will, and Psalm 138:2 tells us that God has elevated His Word above His name. He’s elevated His Word and Will above Himself! This should give us an indication of how critical He is about His Word and how absolutely unyielding our commitment must be to pursue the purpose for which God has called us. Jesus Christ is our example, and he made it clear that carrying forth God’s Will was the whole reason he came. In John 14:12-13, he said that you and I can do the same works that he did, and even greater works because he was going to be with the Father. It is on this foundation, upon the foundation of carrying forth God’s Will, that Christ said we can ask for anything in the name of Jesus Christ, and Heavenly Father will do it. Fulfilling our purpose within God’s Will is the key that unlocks the doors to His blessing.
Most of us are praying for our wills to be done, and our prayers are about asking God to follow what we want to do. This is not faith, and you cannot pull faith from a heart that seeks to neglect God’s purpose. It’s a fruitless exercise. We must stop and consider whether we’re actually walking in the Will of God. We can’t operate the dominion and authority of Christ outside of His Will, and many of us think we can. God made it possible through Christ for us to have a recreated spirit. We are new creations in Christ. Our spirits were created to partner our wills with the Will of God, so that we can be effective ambassadors who expand His Kingdom on earth.
Heavenly Father rewards those that walk according to His Will. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that He’s a Rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. It isn’t enough to leave the sin, we have to leave the sin and cling to the purpose for which God has called us. It’s His purpose, not ours. The wrongs we’ve done, the mistakes we’ve made, God sets everything right and causes all things to work together for our good when deep in our hearts we are committed to His Will.
We have to ask ourselves how much do we really want the newness that Christ offers. How much do we truly want things in our lives to change? Because they can’t change unless WE change. And the only way to change in a way that ushers in new mercies and blessings is to make God’s Will the center of our existences.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Seeking God’s Will for My Life” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2018. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.
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