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Entering Into the Light

ENTERING INTO THE LIGHT

MIKE CUNNINGHAM

JULY 1, 2007

I’m sure we all agree that there have been times when you and I weren’t surprised when someone became angry. I certainly wasn’t when a young father of four small children told me his wife had abandoned them the day before and left a note saying she wanted to “find herself” and then do “her own thing.” Nor was I astonished when a young woman confided in me her husband left for another woman because of the nature of her recent cancer surgery which now made it impossible for her to meet all of “his needs.”

Who can fault someone for becoming angry when they discover that a person they thought was a friend was actually a backbiting busybody hell-bent on ruining his or her reputation? And you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand why someone becomes angry towards a nit-picking spouse, parent, supervisor or what have you, who is constantly belittling them, especially in front of other people?

Whenever I learn about a woman or child having been abducted and then subjected to all sorts of horrible things before they breathe their last, I become very angry. And I’m sure my indignation pales in comparison to that of the victim’s loved ones, especially if the murderer somehow manages to escape the just punishment his crime warrants. Can you fault those people for becoming bitter and resentful? Perhaps not, but our Creator God certainly does. So much so that He gives us this warning.

Ephesians 4:31 (ESV) 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [screaming] and slander [insulting remarks] be put away from you, along with all malice [meanness, nastiness, hatred, spitefulness and cruelty].

The Amplified version phrases it this way:

Ephesians 4:31 (AMP) 31 Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).

God wants us to get rid of these kinds of sinful expressions of our anger, even if the anger is justified. Our Creator warns us that they are examples of some of the works of what the Bible refers to as being our sinful fleshly nature, which, if we don’t knock off and get rid of completely, will most certainly cause us to condemn ourselves into experiencing dreadful eternal consequences. For instance:

Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV) 19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

People that are chronically angry, bitter and resentful and who are characterized as being hot-tempered loose-cannons who are prone to throwing fits of rage have taken their Creator’s precious gift of anger and perverted it immensely. Folks who claim they are Christians are ignoring God’s warning at their peril. From time to time, some of us more than often than others, need to be reminded of how God wants us to handle our anger.

Ephesians 4:26-27 (NIV) 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,

27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

Ephesians 4:26-27 (AMP) 26 When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down. 27 Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him].

It behooves us to remember that we are in a fierce spiritual battle between God and the devil and his cosmic forces of evil. Those invisible beings are unrelenting in their attacks on all human beings. They especially seek Christians out just as a tiny hummingbird does the nectar in flowers.

Ephesians 6:12 (AMP) 12 For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.

You and I must remind ourselves and one another of this reality. Unfortunately many of Christ’s followers today are not as engaged in this war as He wants them to be. I’m speaking of those Christians who have allowed themselves to become deceived by other very persuasive demonically deceived fallible men or women who are preaching and teaching that, it isn’t that big a deal if they don’t make every effort to assemble together regularly in an organized setting with their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Unknowingly, these demonically deceived people are treating local expressions of the church Christ died for with contempt.

Satan has convinced them to be content with being part of the non-denominational universal body of Christ. They can get along just fine with their Bible and the Holy Spirit to guide them. In other words, they don’t need pastors or teachers or even other Christians for that matter. They are Christian Lone Rangers. And they are for the most part very unhappy sitting ducks in the devils crosshair. All Christians need one another. The Apostle Paul wrote:

Romans 15:14 (AMP) 14 Personally I am satisfied about you, my brethren, that you yourselves are rich in goodness, amply filled with all [spiritual] knowledge and competent to admonish and counsel and instruct one another also.

God desires that every Christian, not just pastors and teachers, but all Christians, to diligently strive to become competent to council, admonish and instruct one another. Speaking of the Church as being the Body of Christ, Paul says:

1 Corinthians 12:24-25 (AMP) 24 “… But God has so adjusted (mingled, harmonized, and subtly proportioned the parts of) the whole body, giving the greater honor and richer endowment to the inferior parts which lack [apparent importance], 25 So that there should be no division or discord or lack of adaptation [of the parts of the body to each other], but the members all alike should have a mutual interest in and care for one another.

Galatians 6:2 (AMP) 2 Bear (endure, carry) one another’s burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it].

Ephesians 4:1-2 (AMP) 1 I THEREFORE, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to and beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy of the [divine] calling to which you have been called [with behavior that is a credit to the summons to God’s service, 2 Living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another.

Ephesians 4:24-32 (AMP) 24 And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, rejecting all falsity and being done now with it, let everyone express the truth with his neighbor, for we are all parts of one body and members one of another.

In what has become known as “The Epistle of Warning,” the divinely inspired author wrote:

Hebrews 12:15 (AMP) 15 Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look [after one another], to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God’s grace (His unmerited favor and spiritual blessing), in order that no root of resentment (rancor, bitterness, or hatred) shoots forth and causes trouble and bitter torment, and the many become contaminated and defiled by it—

It’s sad and disgraceful whenever a Christian allows his or her often justifiable anger with another Christian to go to bed with them. The last thing they think about before falling asleep is the other person’s sin. When they awaken, whether it’s several times during the night or in the morning, they will do so as a spiritual prisoner of war.

Just as alcoholism is a condition brought about by repeatedly committing the sin of drunkenness, so too is a hot-tempered person the way he or she is because they continuously go to sleep while they are still angry. And just as demonically enslaved alcoholics and addicts plan on getting their first drink or fix of the day and then throughout the day as soon as they awaken, so too does a demonically enslaved angry person look forward with eager anticipation to their first opportunity of expressing their compulsion to fan those embers of bitterness, resentment and vindictiveness. If they are successful it will turn into a full blown inferno, and they will subject their victims to incensed fits of rage, if and when an opportunity presents itself.

If anyone thinks I’m exaggerating; go find yourself a hot-tempered person and invite him or her to breakfast. I’ll give you three guesses as to what the person who went to sleep the previous night while they were still angry will want to talk about, and the first two won’t count. With obvious love and a spirit of deep humility you might confront the person with some verses from the Epistle of James concerning their conduct. For instance:

James 3:13-18 (AMP) 13 Who is there among you who is wise and intelligent? Then let him by his noble living show forth his [good] works with the [unobtrusive] humility [which is the proper attribute] of true wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry, selfish ambition) in your hearts, do not pride yourselves on it and thus be in defiance of and false to the Truth. 15 This [superficial] wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual (animal), even devilish (demoniacal). 16 For wherever there is jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry and selfish ambition), there will also be confusion (unrest, disharmony, rebellion) and all sorts of evil and vile practices.

They may try to cop a plea by admitting that these verses are true and that they are trying. It’s just that they were born like that. Their whole family has a strong inclination to lose it and blow up. In other words, it’s in the genes. Don’t buy into that one. God doesn’t condemn anyone to eternal torment because they were born with what they might today’s 12 step programs describe as being a character defect. On the contrary, it’s learned behavior which God has given each of His human creatures the freedom to either embrace or reject. Its behavior they have either taught themselves or learned from an influential older person in their life. You must encourage the enslaved professed Christian to seek and then help them find what the Apostle James refers to as being the wisdom that is from above. Picking us where we left off in James we read:

17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure (undefiled); then it is peace-loving, courteous (considerate, gentle). [It is willing to] yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and straightforward, impartial and unfeigned (free from doubts, wavering, and insincerity). 18 And the harvest of righteousness (of conformity to God’s will in thought and deed) is [the fruit of the seed] sown in peace by those who work for and make peace [in themselves and in others, that peace which means concord, agreement, and harmony between individuals, with undisturbedness, in a peaceful mind free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts].

Ephesians 4: 31-32 (AMP) Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). 32 And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.

The only way we can avoid being taken captive by Satan and becoming a chronically angry person who is full of resentment and bitterness is to forgive the one who has wronged us before our head “hit’s the pillow,” as my son Mike is fond of saying. I’ll be the first to admit that this is something far easier to say that do. Nevertheless it is what God commands us and will enable us to do if we ask Him to.

Earlier in this Worship Service we said the Lord’s Prayer together. We asked our Heavenly Father to forgive us our trespasses as we have forgiven those who have trespassed against us. In “The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant” Jesus told His disciples about a servant who pleaded with his master for patience and mercy concerning a debt he owed. The man’s master forgave him but the servant in turn wouldn’t forgive someone else who was in a similar situation.

Matthew 18:32-34 (ESV) 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.

Now look at what Jesus said to Peter and the rest of His disciples in verse 35

35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Commenting on this parable, Martyn-Lloyd Jones writes: “If you cannot forgive your brother, I tell you in the name of God you are not forgiven yourself. You cannot play fast and loose in God’s moral universe.”[1]

1 John 2:9 (AMP) 9 Whoever says he is in the Light and [yet] hates his brother [Christian, born-again child of God his Father] is in darkness even until now.

1 John 3:15 (AMP) 15 Anyone who hates (abominates, detests) his brother [in Christ] is [at heart] a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding (persevering) within him.

If God has indeed forgiven us, the Holy Spirit will be living inside of us and He will manifest His presence by inclining us to sincerely want to forgive others just as we have been forgiven by God in Christ Jesus. We must “Hate sin always; hate sin in the sinner always, but never hate the sinner. Both sides of the truth are absolutely essential. Sin must never be condoned. Sin must never be excused. Sin must always be condemned.2

One of the things I suggest we do to help us want to forgive someone is to meditate on the scourging Jesus had to suffer at the hands of the Roman soldiers. They whipped His pain racked body so severely, that, according to the ancient historian’s Josephus and Eusebus in their accounts of the martyr’s, revealed His bones and cartilage and deep-seated veins and arteries. Even His intestines and organs were exposed.[2] The Prophet Isaiah described the end result:

Isaiah 52:14 (NIV) 14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him– his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness–

If the horror of the means Perfect Love had to employ in order to obtain forgiveness for the sins of folks such as you and me and other sinners who “knew not what they do,” (Luke 23:34) and contrast it with the means at our disposal, such as saying with hearts overflowing with gratitude just three little words; “I love you,” and meaning them from the bottom of our heart; then we ought to plead with Him for our forgiveness and ask Him to remove our heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh, and send His Holy Spirit to dwell in us so that the Spirit would incline us to forgive everyone just as God has forgiven us in Christ Jesus. Then we will emerge from the darkness and go into the light.


[1] Darkness and Light, ©1982 D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Baker Books, p. 235.

2 Ibid, p. 237.

3 Wars: II, XXI 5, VI, V.3 and Ecclesiastical History, IV, XV, 3-5.

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July 1, 2007 Posted by Categories: Uncategorized 2 comments

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