THE TREE OF LIFE TEACHING MINISTRY
Maurice H. Sykes, Pastor/Teacher
CONFRONTATION: DEALING WITH THE DETAILS OF LIFE
In this life, while under pressure, various persecutions and wrestling with the details of life, people often say to us "don't worry, it can't get any worse." It can, it will. Or we've often heard, "things will just work themselves out, don't worry." Things won't just work themselves out. These well-meaning statements are in direct opposition to the Word of God/Bible doctrine. For the believer in Christ, we must not ignore this Spiritual Truth: WITHOUT CONFRONTATION, THERE IS NO RESOLUTION. As you study under your pastor-teacher you will see this critical principle revealed over and over in scripture. God Himself is the first person to disclose this principle when He addressed the failures of the human race. God did not ignore problems and various issues of life as many Christians do. It's a dangerous thing that could have life-long consequences. We must never ignore an enemy. Never ignore a small problem, they have the potential of being a real adversary - a distraction and a crippling experience.
CONFRONTATION means to come face-to-face with the truth. Often it means to come face-to-face with the truth about ourselves. The Word of God commands us to examine ourselves so that we can see the truth about ourselves. We need to know if we are operating in the plan of God or functioning in human ability. Each believer is to confront their own issues rather than criticizing others or pointing fingers at others or getting into someone's business. God commands that we come face-to-face with the truth about ourselves. How? By examining our own thinking, attitude and conduct to determine if they line up with the Word of God. If we are not "in the faith," as 2 Corinthians 13:5 commands, that means we must make a decision to return to God's way from being in the flesh---acting on pure human viewpoint.
CONFRONTATION with self and agreeing with the Word of God will cleanse and heal believers. When we confront ourselves in the light of Bible doctrine, we will make good decisions and admit that, in and of ourselves, we do not have the power to change ourselves. We must not ever be afraid to examine ourselves or to come face-to-face with the truth. The truth is that we fret, fail, and fall because we try to solve our own problems in our own carnal way.
The Lord Jesus Christ, in grace, has never wanted believers to duck issues. When we commit sin, when we make bad decisions, when we retain mental attitude sins the Lord desires that we recognize it and rebound (1 John 1:9). The instant we commit sin by thought, word of deed, the Lord establishes a time frame for us to confess to Him so that our fellowship is uninterrupted. When we do not come to ourselves and return to Him, in grace, He takes the initiative to confront us. Why? Because of this great principle...WITHOUT CONFRONTATION, THERE IS NO RESOLUTION.
In eternity past, God Himself was presented with a situation that reveals the principle of confrontation. Ezekiel 28:11-19 describes how Lucifer (now called Satan) purposed to promote Himself above the position that God the Father had graced him with. (Isaiah 14:12-14). Our omnipotent God could have simply laughed at him, ignored the treachery and continued a great fellowship with all the heavenly creatures in His domain. How many times have we been warned of treachery and ignored it? How many times have we been given godly advice and ignored it? How many times have we just ducked the issues that our trusted loved ones have tried to call our attention to? How many times have we made excuses for treacherous friends who continued to plan rebellion, instigate rebellion, and malign us to others, and who acted in pure evil because they were envious of us?
How many times have we ignored the clear warnings that God had sent to us? Why all the warnings? Because, 1) God has set a time limit on our response. He gives us a certain amount of time to come to ourselves and confront the simmering problem. The Lord does not want the matter to become "Goliath." 2) WITHOUT CON-FRONTATION, THERE IS NO RESOLUTION. The Lord, in grace, allows us to address the problem, apply the Word/Bible doctrine to the circumstance and the Word of His power gives us ultimate victory. But we often do not heed the warnings that God, in grace, keeps sending. So, we become candidates for enforced humility: He designs the circumstances that will get our attention. Then we can no longer ignore the problem---we must confront it. Unfortunately when enforced humility is employed we may pay a severe price. God is clear: WITHOUT CONFRONTATION, THERE IS NO RESOLUTION. Become disciplined, do not duck or ignore small matters, because they become "Goliaths."
"Goliaths" keep coming. They will keep advancing until they are confronted by The Word. They do not stop on their own---they must be stopped. Confronted. When we apply Bible doctrine to the circumstances, the Word of God's power actually gains the victory for us, and while the battle is the Lord's (1 Samuel 17:47) we must apply the Word of His power, in faith, and then trust God for the victory.
Further, the Lord Jesus Christ gave us the perfect examples of the principle of Confrontation. He demonstrates the First Mention Principle in Genesis Chapter 3, and throughout the Bible. When humanity began the Lord Jesus Christ addressed the bad decisions of Adam and the woman. You will note that when the woman was deceived and Adam willfully rejected the command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were impacted along with the entire human race. But the Lord responded wisely, graciously and decisively: "Adam, where are you?" Genesis 3:9. How significant is this? This is God's response to sinners-this reveals God offering grace to sinful people. This confirms that God had to solve the sin problem, because man could not solve spiritual problems with human solutions. God's response to our failures is GRACE! The Lord called Adam to examine his relationship with God, to take responsibility for his actions. In short, the Lord was challenging Adam to come to himself and take the appropriate action: choose divine viewpoint or human wisdom. Adam did not initiate the solution, so the Lord took the initiative, knowing that WITHOUT CONFRONTATION, THERE IS NO RESOLUTION. Adam, the woman, and all of mankind would have lived perpetually in corrupted bodies, dead to God and eternally separated from God, had He not taken the initiative to solve the problem. God's plan is that we be restored to Him. The Lord had to pursue Adam and the woman to confront their condition: broken fellowship with God---being in bondage to a sin nature. The Lord confronts humanity by offering grace, forgiveness and a Power Source-in-Residence (the gift of the Holy Spirit) so that we can win the daily spiritual battles.
Note the Revelation 2:4. The same confrontation principle is applied to the church by Christ. He commanded the churches to come to themselves and agree with God. The Lord warns them to confront the priority problem in life: turning away from God, the Living Word, Bible doctrine. Apostasy has to be confronted because WITHOUT CONFRONTATION, THERE IS NO RESOLUTION! God wants us to win, daily, and we can. So then, CONFRONTATION begins with self.
Remember this principle: "Goliaths" never start off looking like the monsters they are, or become, in the souls of believers.
"Goliaths" begin as subtle as a summer breeze, they are unassuming and often appear as annoyances or distractions. "Goliaths" often manifest as discontented ministers who think more highly of themselves than they ought to think. And "Goliaths" reveal themselves as rebellious Christians who feel inferior but have an outward appearance of loving the Lord and being strong in the faith, and they project the impression of a spiritual giant. But all along, "Goliath" in their soul is picking up steam...and a revolt in the soul will occur. The Christian must examine self and utilize divine solutions: "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:4,5. That is the divine solution to the "Goliaths" of life.
THEREFORE, THIS CONCLUDING SPIRITUAL TRUTH AGAIN: "GOLIATHS" MUST BE STOPPED! THEY DO NOT, AND WILL NOT STOP ON THEIR OWN. "GOLIATH" IS PURE REBELLION WHICH HAS BEGUN IN THEIR SOULS AND MANIFESTS WHEN THEY ARE SERVING IN POSITIONS THAT THEY DO NOT WANT TO SERVE IN. "GOLIATHS" REFUSE TO CEASE REBELLIOUS BEHAVIOR BECAUSE THEIR THINKING IS NOT ANCHORED IN THE WORD/ BIBLE DOCTRINE.
"GOLIATHS" MUST BE STOPPED! WITHOUT CONFRONTATION, THERE IS NO RESOLUTION. WHEN "GOLIATHS" CONTINUE, IT IS BECAUSE WE HAVE ALLOWED THEM TO DO SO.
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ONCE SAID: "DEAL WITH YOUR ADVERSARY, QUICKLY." ---MATTHEW 5:25
HE'S TALKING ABOUT RESOLUTION THAT ONLY COMES BY CONFRONTATION.
GOD IS FOR YOU, HE WANTS YOU TO WIN. AND YOU CAN.
---mhs
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Dr. Sykes is Pastor/Teacher at St. Luke UAME Church, Camden, New Jersey.