“Solid Footing” Conclusion
Broadcast #1634
January 28, 2024
Transcript of message from TV Broadcast 1634 -- taken from Closed Captioning Text
Phil: God has to shine the light on all kinds of things in us that just aren’t like Him. And you know, we need to be more than okay with that. We need to say, yes Lord, I know that I’m not like you in so many ways, and I’m not gonna cower in fear about that or think that that just, oh, that spoils the whole deal. I’m not bad. I’m not good. Guess what? That’s why we need a Savior.
But, oh, how patient, how patient He is. You know, the old song where He took six days to create the creation and, but God’s still working on me. Oh, how patient He must be. (laughs) God’s still working on me. It takes a lot more than six days to work on us, but oh, we’re the center of way, of His purpose is to bring forth a family that’s like Him.
You know, Paul prayed something that we’ve alluded to before. When he was writing to the Ephesians, he wanted three things for them. He wanted knowledge, he wanted understanding, and he wanted wisdom. Well, folks, we’re pretty ignorant when it comes to the things of God. And we would like to just come to God and think, oh, praise God, He’s accepted me, and He lives in me, and life is gonna be beautiful.
That’s not what the Bible says. That’s not what Jesus said. In the world, you will have trouble, but be it, but cheer up, take heart. I’ve overcome the world. So part of the knowledge is the knowledge of what God has to do, to do what He, to carry out this thing we call salvation. How can He just leave us in the condition we are and allow self to rule and call it salvation? Does He not have to show us things? Don’t we need to, the, don’t we need the knowledge of that fact?
That this is what salvation involves. We have, when we come to Him, we are handing our lives over to Him and saying, God, fix me, change me. Do whatever it takes so that I can be with you one day. Well, we need to live with that knowledge. That needs to be part of our thinking where we, that’s our worldview. That’s how we understand life.
And of course, understanding, so the knowledge is the “what.” The understanding gets into the question of “why.” Do you know why you need all this? Do we understand that? Do we get it? That there’s so much that’s not of Him, that’s not like Him, that He has to do something about it.
You know, if we know this, and if we understand the why, it’s a whole lot easier to come to the wisdom part. Because then we know, then we can say, okay, God, how do I handle this? You told me what you’re doing. You helped me to understand and to measure why, but now I need help, Lord. How do I actually deal with this in practice?
And then the Lord begins to teach us. Every time you come to a place where your nature wants to rise up and do its thing, you need to learn to bring it to Me. You need to come to Me from the depths of your heart and look to Me and believe actively that I will give you the strength.
Because every time our nature rises up, it presents us with a choice, doesn’t it? Will I simply cooperate with my old nature and find a way to justify that? Or will I say, God, I need your help. And then choose to access that help and choose to believe that He means it when He says He’s gonna help us?
That’s where we stop short. We think, oh, I’ve got to deserve His help. Get real. I need His help, because I’m helpless, and I don’t, I don’t deserve it. I’m broken. You know, like we said this morning, but oh, there He is to help me in my time of need. But oh, if I’m gonna have a relationship that, with God, that could be defined as peace, do I not need to be completely on board and have knowledge, wisdom, understanding, of what’s going on and be on board with it like Jesus was? Yeah.
I mean, here was Jesus. He didn’t have anything wrong with Him. And yet there He was. His whole being had been surrendered to the will and the purpose of the Father. He did it based on the love that we’ve, was read about this morning. That was the motivating factor.
And here we are called to be, to come into that relationship that’s full of peace. Folks, I don’t want to be at war with God. But how many of us find ourselves in that place, when we’re just complaining? I don’t like this, I don’t like that. Why does it have to be this way? Why do I, you know, why this, why that? And so many ways that the enemy can get into our minds and begin to mess with us.
And again, he knows how to push our buttons, doesn’t he? But if Satan is able to push our buttons, doesn’t that prove we got ‘em? We need to say, Lord, help me to understand how this is working, what’s going on here, and help me to meet that thing with truth and surrender whatever the issue is into your hands and agree with you. Let’s keep the peace here. Let me not get in a place where I’m really complaining against God.
That’s a weak place to be able to stand up to the devil, isn’t it? And how the Lord wants to share that same peace, incredibly, that incredibly resided in Him when He was facing the cross. Wow. God help us. But He is, and He loves us, and He wants to help us. That’s His whole heart, the love that was read about this morning. This is, this defines His relationship with us, and we need to believe it. We need to, we need to act like it’s really true, because it is. Praise God!
So anyway, that was the sense that I was getting out of this peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And the fact that it leads into the process by which God actively changes us, and we need His help, but we need to be absolutely in agreement with Him if we’re gonna have a solid standing and to be able to stand against the devil when he comes.
Otherwise, we’re gonna wind up joining the devil and fighting against God. How’s that work out? You know, we can get ourselves in a dark place, but may God give us that sense, when we wake up and we don’t feel good or something bad has happened, some, there’s some challenge that’s come to our lives, to be able to sit there and say, Lord, I’m in your hands. I’m trusting you, not just when the sun is shining, but when the wind is blowing and the storm is raging.
You know, there’s a line in a song that’s sung, I have peace in the raging storm. And we sing that in a, like it’s this wonderful, out there thing. And then how, what happens when we get in our storm though?
And the Lord has to send storms, doesn’t he? The only way that our old nature loses its power is when we get in a situation where it wants its way, but we know enough and God gives us the strength and the faith to call upon Him and to find the strength in Him to say, no. What happens? God’s life and nature gain a stronger hold in our lives and the other loses.
We’re talking about dying to something. It is not that the thing dies. It’s that we die to it. And it’s, and we stop listening to it, because now we recognize what’s going on, and we know that I don’t need to be, I don’t need to be ashamed, in one sense, I don’t need to be shocked and surprised at how terrible I, you know, all the terrible things I discover in myself. I don’t need to wallow in all that junk. I just need to say, Thank you Lord. Thank you for the light. Thank you for loving me enough to put me in a situation where I see the truth, but I can bring it to you and know that you love me just as much as on when I feel good on a good day.
Your love hasn’t changed a bit. In fact, this is an expression of your love. In a way, it’s a much more practical expression than just, oh, do I feel good today? Isn’t the Lord good? I thank God there’s times like that. But I wanna be in a position where I can thank Him. I can, my heart doesn’t get, the peace just doesn’t go away, because things don’t suit me in my flesh. I wanna be able to say, Lord, I love you. I thank you, I trust you.
You will keep in perfect peace, the one whose mind, whose heart, whichever it is, is steadfast, doesn’t change with the changing circumstances. Why? Because they trust. Do we really trust the Lord? We say we do. But when it comes to the practical everyday stuff that God has to do to change us, are we really trusting Him?
And I certainly, I’m conscious when I say that, more and more, that the Lord never tells us things like this to make us feel bad or condemn us, but to help us to understand and grow. Anybody here need to grow? Yes. Yeah. We all do. And the Lord is so merciful and faithful.
So, God’s gonna send battles. But boy, has He have given us a place to stand. Lord, I am 100% in harmony with You. And that’s, that gives me a solid place to stand.
Well, there’s so much more that you can say, but obviously, one thing that’s obvious is that this peace is not just simply a vertical quiet in the, in a cave kind of thing, is it? No. It’s just like, the love of God is meaningless if we don’t love one another. Okay? Well, the peace of God is the same way. If we’re gonna have, really have the peace of God, we’re gonna have to have a unity among ourselves where it’s not just a, hi, how are you doing? And (groans) you know? Under the surface, there’s this something going on.
And boy, does the devil, you think about, if you were the devil working, what would you do? How would you attack God’s people? Okay, now I got this thing with me and the Lord. We’re getting there. I’m learning. I’m learning to say, yes, quicker. There’s more of a peace there. Ooh, I gotta do something.
This is the devil talking. But I know some things about that person, and I know how to get things going with somebody else. I know how to provoke the feelings and bring up things that have happened and bring up things that are just different. And I don’t like this about that person. You know, that’s called human nature.
But if God can’t give us victory in that area, I mean, are we really standing on peace? If it’s just this quiet little peace when we’re alone, but we’re this constant strife when it comes to other people, is that really the peace that Christ came? Do you think that’s how He went around? Did you hear what Peter said about me? Look at that, I just don’t approve of the way they did that. I mean, in that kind of a spirit, you know what I’m talking about.
There was a time to speak truth in God’s Spirit, but that’s not what we’re talking about, is it? You know, I mean, you know the difference, if you’re at all honest. But I’ll tell you, God wants to bring His people to a place where there is a unity and there is a oneness that He blesses.
I’ll tell you, the devil is scared to death that God’s people will actually come to that kind of a place. He knows that the presence of God is powerful when people are at peace with one another and with God. Is that not what we need? I need it. Amen. And I pray that God will open our eyes and our hearts and give us the grace that we need to recognize issues that God wants to set us free from.
You know, we had a brother many years ago, I can’t remember his name now, somebody I’m sure can tell me. This goes back 50 years or more. And he would come mostly to our conventions, but every once in a while, he’d show up. Well, he had a saying that stuck. And if I can remember how he said it exactly, it says, “You are wrong, if you’re right, if your spirit is wrong.”
And you understand what he’s saying? We can be in a contention, if you will, about something that happened or your opinion, your feelings about something. You can have a debate, if you will, where you are convinced that you are in the right. You see it the way it’s supposed to be. The other person is just wrong.
Well, let’s suppose for a minute that, technically, you’re right. Okay? But if your spirit is wrong about it, you’re wrong. God is not so interested in technicalities of rightness as we determine it down here. God is looking for a spirit that is right. May God give us that kind of a heart, where we recognize, if there’s something in me against somebody and I tend to see them, I tend to react in a nonpeaceful way, non-loving way, is there not a need?
Do I dare to say, well, it’s their fault, if they would straighten up and change, everything would be good, because I’m right. Do you not see the problem with that? If my spirit isn’t right, then I’m not right. You remember this, the passage in Romans that we’ve used so many times about how we present ourselves as that living sacrifice, that corporate sacrifice, and then God begins the process of changing us by changing the way we think, leads straight into the body of Christ.
But then it goes into a lot of other issues. One of them is this. If it’s possible, to the extent it depends upon you, live at peace with everyone. Whoa, now you’re stepping on toes. I got that neighbor and, man, I don’t like him a little bit. Does that justify having an angry spirit toward them? Don’t we need to pray for people? Jesus said, Pray for your enemies. And there’s times we can stand up and speak the truth, but God help us to have a right spirit.
Yes. If the devil can move us off of that place where there is a reservoir of peace here, then we’re in a weak place. We’re in a vulnerable place. And God longs to take us to deeper ground, higher ground, I guess is the word. We have been called to a relationship that could be defined as the peace of Christ, where things that would divide us have been brought to the cross, where we stop blaming other people for things that we don’t like and start looking on the inside, where if there are things that we would like to change and would prefer they were different because of some personal feeling about it, we’re willing to say, Lord, they’re yours and I love them. I receive ‘em. They have to receive me too, and I’m imperfect.
Of course, we don’t stop and think about that half the time, do we? But may God help us to have that peace rule. Now, I know that this has been pointed out in the past, but that expression, let the peace of God rule, this is ruling like an umpire, ruling, like a, you know, the, I can’t even think what it is. What is it in basketball? Anyway, the referee. Yeah. Okay?
You know, they don’t, they, it’s not supposed to just go out there and slug it out and do whatever they please. There are rules, and you got a referee that can blow the whistle and raise his hand and stop the game and deal with a foul. You know, God has given us something in our hearts, if we’re His, that if we will learn to listen to it, we’ll get a pretty good idea of where things are at.
Now, yes, I know that our peace can be attacked and all of that. That’s another scripture that we’ve heard so many times. I’ll probably just refer to it, but that’s all right. But God help us to come to a place where we’re willing to look inside. And instead of looking out here and blaming and reacting and allowing the devil to push our buttons, we’ll say, Wait a minute. What’s this saying in here? This is what I need to go. Is the referee calling a foul here?
Now, of course we’d say, yeah, he’s calling it on them. (congregation laughing) No. If we don’t have peace in here, then there’s something that’s gone, going on in us that’s other than what the Lord wants. And He wants us to bring that to Him and change us so that we are the way we’re supposed to be.
We will never have unity by trying to straighten each other out in that kind of a sense. But the more we learn to humble ourselves before Him and look to Him, we’re gonna have a place to stand when the devil comes. We’re gonna be able to raise that shield. We’re gonna be able to do what we need to do and fight with that sword ‘cause we’ll have a conviction.
Then what comes out of our mouth will be the word of God as it was with Jesus, because that truth is in here, and the righteousness is here, and the peace is here. Now, we can stand and say, Devil, I’m standing. I believe God, and I’m standing on His word.’ And it’s written, by the way, praise God.
I guess the scripture that I, half of you have probably thought about by now is where Paul says, don’t be anxious, don’t be fearful. Isn’t that how the Lord, how the devil, rather, pushes buttons? I mean, think about it. If you were the devil, what would you do when you go to attack a Christian? You know things that bother them. You know things that they’re afraid about. So you’re gonna constantly throw thoughts in their minds about this and that and the other thing, try to get ‘em so absorbed in that they just, they’re just swallowed up by it.
They’re paralyzed spiritually, where the Lord tells us to stop, to bring them to Him in a way where we cast that upon Him. And what happens? The peace of God, which passes all understanding, exceeds it. It goes beyond what you can even, what you can even understand to figure out. It goes beyond that. What does it do? It keeps your hearts and your minds in Christ. Praise God!
I need that, don’t you? I need my heart. I need my mind, but I’m gonna have to be willing to go to Him in those times when I sense this, the attack of the enemy on my peace. Man, this is a pretty good indicator, isn’t it? What’s going on in here? God wants, do you think God wants His people to be, (groans) in a constant state of unrest and fear, anxiety, unbelief? God wants us to have that same rest, that peace that Jesus said.
Why did He say, I give you “my peace”? Do you think He was anxious and upset and worried about how things were gonna turn out? He knew. He knew, if I just trust my Father and do His thing exactly the way He wants it, He will help me to do it, and it, the result is gonna be worth everything.
But that’s true for us too, right here. God wants us to be so much His people, so much like Him, that He can begin to come in His presence in a deeper way. We can be what He wants us to be. We can stand in this hour, because we are standing against powers and principalities, but we have One in us that has already won the victory. He reigns over sin and death, and He is bringing us in to share in that victory.
He has not only raised us from the dead with Him, He’s seated us on a throne. Did you remember that? Ephesians 2. We don’t occupy a place of, oh, poor me. Oh, look at me. We have a place where we can come to Him and be cleansed and sit there on a throne and say, devil, I don’t have to listen to you. God has filled my heart with a peace, and I embrace that.
I refuse to allow you to divide me from people, to put something in my heart that’s gonna bring me down and create division. I refuse to do anything that’s gonna cause me to complain about what God does and what He’s, how He does things in my life. I know I trust Him. I trust Him with my eternal soul, I’m looking, well, it’s eternal now that He’s given us life. Nothing eternal about it otherwise, but anyway, praise God!
I’ll tell you, isn’t God good? Don’t we need this peace? Yes. Don’t we need to have our feet shod with that preparation, the readiness. This translation says, the readiness. Are we ready? Do we listen when the peace says, whoops, something’s going wrong here? Do we come to say, and say, The Lord, help me to understand right now what’s going on and help me to take the stand I need to take, and I know you’re gonna help me because you love me.
If Jesus went to the cross for us, is God gonna withhold anything else that we need? No. Of course He’s not. That’s what the scripture says. So we have every reason this morning to rejoice and just praise God for His goodness!
