Apr
25
Undermined
I drove by a school this morning and saw this on the sign out front-
UNDERMINE- To weaken, sabotage
And the Spirit said, “that’s it! … That’s what the thief does!”
I immediately thought of the message The Lord gave me just over a year ago based on the following verse.
John 10:10
10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
I then went to the dictionary and found this….
Undermine- Def.
to impair, weaken, or destroy (health, morale, etc.) by imperceptible stages
Then I had this thought… “Who do we fight against?”
Ephesians 6:12
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Looking at the definition, the last phrase jumped out at me- “by imperceptible stages”.
Imperceptible- very slight, gradual or subtle.
So, lets pull this together! We know there is a thief bent on our destruction. Jesus said he- the thief, has come to steal, kill and destroy. He has come to Undermine what Jesus came to do- to give us a rich and satisfying life. In essence, His kingdom of LIFE.
Jesus comes sowing seeds of life- TRUTH into our tilled hearts and then the thief comes to undermine Christ’s work in us by sowing LIES that are bent on stealing, killing and destroying life in us.
Our enemy comes to sow seeds of doubt, fear, unbelief… Casting question marks in our hearts about Gods goodness, faithfulness and love. For example.. “If God is so loving, why would he allow this to happen to me?”
Any good relationship is based on trust. Without trust there cannot be relationship. The more the thief can undermine Gods trustworthiness in our hearts, the less we will trust God with our lives.
This leads to a false life of control. I call it a “False Life” because a life made by our own doing is not Real Life and pales in comparison to the Life Jesus came to give us.
So we settle for a self-made life based on a lie which lead us to fear that God can’t be trusted. Then, when the lie takes root in our hearts it produces fear. The fruit of fear is control and self protection. This leads to death of the relationship.
It is a vicious cycle!!
Jesus said….
John 15:5
5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:9
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.”
TRUST=ABIDE=LIFE
FEAR=CONTROL=DEATH
Colossians 1:27
27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Mark 8:36-37
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Luke 17:33
If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.
Abundant Life or a False Life
The choice is yours! Choose wisely.
