Loyalty = Submission
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”
II Chronicles 16:9 NKJV
As a country. As a state. As a city. As individuals. There have been many that have changed their loyalty.
Our priorities and commitments have changed.
As the Lord of Hosts looks and seeks who is still loyal to Him, He finds few.
We wonder why! Why so much destruction. Why so much heartache.
From the despair of watching addictions slowly take a life. To the horror of life taken in an instant by yet another act of violence.
This has become our daily lives. Every time we see something like this happen we cry out to the Lord why!
We are no longer loyal.
The definition of loyalty is having or making a commitment to an ongoing relationship and to the attitude and behavior demanded by it.
God calls them covenant relationships. It’s between God and His people. Are we still His people?
He has made the promise to be with us, to protect us. To guide us and give us the strength to do so, If…
We no longer have His strength to resist the enemy. We no longer have the ability to stand for Righteousness because we have none.
The Lord says that we “have done foolishly, therefore from now on you shall have wars”!
WARS!!! Drug wars, acts of violence wars. Mental wars! Not battles , Wars!
Battles can be very short and specific. Usually not many casualties. More wounds than loss of life.
Wars are intend to take life. Intense conflict with extreme violence, extreme loss, aggression, and is always destructive.
WARS!
We always say things like ” we are in a battle”. We quote Scripture “our battle is not against flesh and blood, it’s against principalities”.
Oh, We have done foolishly.
We go into these Wars thinking we have the strength of God behind us, but His strength is in few.
My heart cries out for all those that have lost loved ones due to random acts of violence, overdose and every destruction of life that happens. I hope and pray that through these times the families have comfort in the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth. That by His Holy Spirit they may find peace and rest.
But we can’t ask the Lord why all this evil happens. He has already told us in His Holy Word. We should know why.
What we need to learn is how to change it.
We all have expectations. Of course all of our expectations are different.
The Lord has His expectations too!
What is one of the expectations God has for us, to take His Holy Word seriously.
Not just what we want to hear. Not just the Blessings, Not just the feel good stuff, but every Word. He took the time to inspire His people by the power of the Holy Spirit to deliver His Message so we should take the time to read and hear what He has to say.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:8 NKJV
How amazing it is to hear that if we draw near to God He draws near to us!
This is what we long for. When we need Jesus, He is there. In the hurt and pain. In every time of trouble!
Be we neglect and skip verse 7.
Therefore submit to God.
James 4:7 NKJV
In our lack of submission we limit what Jesus can do in our lives.
Either you are sinning against Him or you’re being sanctified by Him.
Are you being renewed or removed?
Renewed in Spirit. Renewed heart, mind, spirit.
Or are we removing ourselves from His Precious Hand and the Promises He so freely gives out!
We do that when we refuse to submit to Him and show our loyalty.
This is so hard for us to do, because we want control! We want to dictate the outcome of our lives. We want to be our own gods.
When things go wrong we blame God.
What is keeping you from submitting fully to a more than capable Savior!
It’s only in submission to Jesus that He can draw near to you.
When we have no other option but the help of the Resurrected King. When there is nothing that we can trust but the promise of the cleansing of the Blood of Christ. None of it is possible unless we SUBMIT!
Either you are ceasing to do evil or you are learning to do good in His sight by the grace and mercy of His Son Jesus Christ.
It’s not a gun problem. It’s not a drug problem.
It’s a submission problem.
There are roots to all of our Sins.
We are told to examine our hearts. How do you do that? When we come to the Lord, what do you do to look back and see where we fall short.
We must truly dig deep and examine what’s in our hearts that keeps us from an intimate relationship and total submission and complete loyalty with our Creator.
Has God ever given you a reason to stop believing and trusting in Him?
Has He ever shown Himself unfaithful or untrustworthy?
Just because He hasn’t answered a prayer, just because you feel or think that He isn’t listening has nothing to do with His Faithfulness or Trustworthiness, it’s yours!
How much do you trust Jesus? Do you trust His promises of forgiveness, and Salvation and redemption? Of course.
Do you trust that He will never leave you or forsake you. Yes, most of the time.
Proverbs 3:5 says to
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
Proverbs 3:5 NKJV
Do you trust That when He said at the Cross with His last dying breath “It Is Finished”, that it was all finished!
Now God’s people will openly deny and contradict His word and all His promises, showing that His people may have at one time trusted and were loyal to Him and Him alone! But there is no longer that same amount of trust in the Lord!
Then we wonder why there’s so much destruction.
As hard as it is sometimes we can never put any restriction in what God can and can’t do. Who are we to question why He does the things He does.
His thoughts are greater and higher than our thoughts. Sometimes we have to just submit and be obedient to what He says.
He keeps up His end of the deal. He is loyal to do it.
Do you believe and trust everything that Jesus said?
When you trust Him with everything you will find rest. With true trust, worry and fear fade away.
There is peace in submitting our lives to the Lord. It’s taking the yoke and heaviness of life and truly laying at the Foot of the Cross. In peace comes rest. Rest that we all so desperately desire.
It’s through this submission we will show the Lord of Hosts whose eyes go to and fro through the whole earth just exactly who we are loyal to. Then we can regain His strength to change our world! Then we can have the strength to show love and compassion to a dying world that needs it so desperately! Then and only then can these Wars start to be won!
Submission = Loyalty!
Loyalty = His strength!
His Strength =Victory!
Pastor Ed
From Pastor Dewey Moede: Prayers Up For Farmington, New Mexico! I am beyond angry at seeing our country unravel
