In Luke 6:46-49 we read a crucial statement about the consequences of not doing what Jesus teaches us to do.
You can’t just call Jesus your Lord and not do what He’s asking you to do – that’s hypocrisy.
A true disciple is one who does what the Lord teaches or instructs.
So our objective should be to put into practice what we are taught by the Lord, that is when we are true disciples.
The Lord’s teaching seeks to set us free from essentially from 3 things or concepts:
- Lies/Deception
- Fears/Doubts
- Earthly desires.
Overcoming these is no easy feat. However, this is what the word of the Lord aims to deliver us from.
Jesus states in John 8:32 that “you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”
The truth sets free form lies/Deception. Lies and deception of Satan the adversary is rife in the world.
Satan has sown seeds of lies right from the beginning in the garden of Eden about who God is,
and continues to trick us into not accepting the word of God as it is.
Revelations 12:9 “ This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan,
the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.”
Consequently, we are unable to know who God is and establish a relationship with Him.
These lies permeate every fabric of society. The word of God is twisted,
abbreviated or expatiated beyond its original meaning and intent.
- We attribute to Mother Nature what is Father God.
- We label most things in the world with scientific jargons instead of calling it what it really is.
- When we have drought we day it’s global warming instead of understanding what God says in His word may cause drought.
- We believe more in human wisdom than in God’s.
- We forget that God is not a man that He should lie. Satan and men lie, God never does.
- We also need to be set free from our fears.
If Satan does not get you with lies/deception,
his next strategy is sowing seeds of fear/doubt into our hearts. Man was not created to live in fear.
He was created to have dominion. However, the average man now lives in fear. Fear of tomorrow,
fear of losing one’s job or livelihood, fear of this, fear of that… …fear,
perceived or real cripples and stifles us from achieving our God given potential.
Instead of excelling, we settle for the meagre carrots and false sense of security.
We have become so afraid of even trying to become more. We have become so afraid of venturing out into the unknown.
Our fears of failure and doubts about our abilities have immobilised us and we have settled.
We no longer set goals and targets, we no longer push ourselves for fear that we may not succeed.
This mindset inadvertently prevents us from living a life of faith which is a prerequisite to knowing God.
When the shackles of fears/doubts are broken, we are empowered to conquer and dominate.
To become much more creative and faithful. We experience God and learn to trust Him more.
As for desires, this is the one that plagues Christians much more than it does non Christians.
It’s worth reminding ourselves of the story of Peter’s conversion in Luke 5:1-11
in understanding how our desires keeps us enslaved from knowing and following God. The pride of life is to keep up with Jones’s.
No sooner have we acquired the latest gadget, shoe, handbag, phone, car…. that we begin to work for money to get the next one.
- We are caught in the whirlwind of life’s rat race fuelled by our insatiable desires.
- We forget that the things men die for today are worth virtually nothing to the next generation.
- We run around like headless chickens, like a mouse on a cartwheel, going nowhere.
- We let our desires consume us, keeping us from seeking and knowing the creator.
- We break free when we realise that God is the one who blesses eternally and that His blessings do not add sorrow to us.
Jesus Christ wants to set you free. He is the only one who can. He is the embodiment of truth. When we know Him,
we break free from lies, fears and worldly desires. Come to Him all who are weary and heavily burdened and He will give you rest.