Double Vision

Proverbs 29 : 18, Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. KJV

 

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul teaches us that the natural precedes the spiritual. In fact, God uses the physical realm to teach us about the spiritual realm, so that we’re able to understand the ways of God. Having stated this let me ask you a very important question. You have sight, but do you have vision?

It doesn’t take faith to see with our eyes; however, it does require faith to have vision. Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, God gave men and women great visions. When the Lord gave visions to His servants, they would know a thing before it had even begun. Consequently, as they stepped out to fulfill God’s vision for their lives, they were literally walking by faith instead of by sight.

Do you have spiritual vision? Are you able to see the invisible realm as if it is as real as the physical realm? If so, then you have learned how to trust God and take Him at His Word, even though the physical realm or your current circumstances don’t agree with what God has shown you by His Spirit. All Christians should have double vision. In other words, we need to be able to live victoriously in the natural realm by what has been revealed to us in the realm of the Spirit.

The main purpose of today’s word has to do with developing and living patiently while waiting on God’s vision to come to pass. God gives believers visions so that we can know the end of something even before it begins in the natural, but He uses that vision to teach us patience. Satan uses the lack of patience in people to cause us to get ahead of God and spoil our reward. Throughout the New Testament, we are promised great reward “if” we will wait patiently on God’s will to be fulfilled in our lives.

If a person doesn’t have spiritual sight or a vision from the Lord, then they are more apt to give up on God before He has time to work things out on their behalf. You see; God does give us vision. Nevertheless, vision has a greater purpose than just being able to see something that is yet to be fulfilled in the natural realm. God gives us vision so that we will have patience and spiritual sight to “see beyond today’s troubles” and hold on in faith, until the deliverance or breakthrough manifests in our lives.

Here is the reason why I chose today’s scripture from Proverbs 29. The Lord doesn’t want anyone to perish, especially His people. Therefore, He gives us vision to teach us how to wait on God. If we don’t possess vision, we won’t wait; consequently, Satan has an opportunity to cause us to “throw in the towel” too soon and miss our appointed time of deliverance. I like the NKJV of this passage because it gives us better insight into the true meaning of this verse.

Proverbs 29 : 18, Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; NKJV

When we have and live by faith because of what God’s Word declares or because the Holy Spirit has revealed a vision to us, then we will live patiently. We will also discipline ourselves to ensure that we don’t miss the appointed time that God has ordained for His promise to be manifested in our lives. However, if a person doesn’t practice patience and doesn’t have a vision or spiritual sight, they will “cast off restraint.”

When Simon Peter saw Jesus die on the cross, he momentarily lost his spiritual sight. As a result of the eclipse of his faith, he threw off all the restraint that had been given to him while walking with Jesus and returned to his old ways and old lifestyle. We all need faith, spiritual sight, and revelation, or “vision” in order to secure us continually until our faith becomes sight. Vision gives us the power to see beyond our current situations and builds our faith so that we will wait faithfully on God’s timing.

Walking By Faith,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Beware of Venomous Lies

Genesis 3 : 1 - 5, Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." NKJV

Even though the serpent didn’t bite Eve, he still injected her heart with his venomous poison. Eve listened to the serpent; therefore, she empowered him to poison her heart against the Lord God. The very moment the serpent wrongly convinced Eve that God wasn’t truthful with her concerning the tree of knowledge, he captivated her heart. Then, once he seized her complete attention, he seduced her into sinning against the Lord and robbed her of the blessings of God in her life.

Satan never fights fair, to say the least. In fact, he preys on the weaknesses, the ignorance, and the vulnerabilities of us, humans. Satan doesn’t come to us as the Devil in a red suit with a pitch fork. He always disguises himself or will operate under a cloak of deception. This is depicted in the story with Eve. Satan embodied the MOST subtle beast of the field in order to pull off his vicious attack against humanity. He didn’t come to Eve and say, “Hi my name is Satan, and I want to destroy your soul. Can I enter your heart now?” Satan always uses “occasions” when we’re at our weakest or going through something that is discouraging and heartbreaking; he does this in order to assure himself a greater chance of victory.

We can see these same tactics being used on Jesus when He was fasting and praying for forty days in the wilderness. Satan came to Jesus and challenged Him while He was physically drained to do something with His anointing in order to prove Himself to be the Son of God. Once again, Satan was attacking someone born of God concerning their identity. When it comes to rejecting the poison of Satan’s lies, we have to know our spiritual identity in Christ, or we can fall prey to his devices, as Eve did.

We’re told in Luke 4 that Satan left Jesus, after he tried to tempt Him, and waited for a more “opportune” time. Satan loves to capitalize on “opportunities” to assist him in carrying out his dastardly deeds.

Whenever the children of Israel were about to enter the Promised Land, the people, along with Moses decided to send in spies to check out the land (Numbers 13). For forty days, the twelve men spied out the land and its inhabitants. When they saw the giants in the land and saw the cities that were fortified with walls “up to heaven,” they allowed fear to fill their hearts. Do you see how the enemy got their attention on the wrong things in order to gain access to their hearts through fear? The spies gave their hearts over to fear and doubt, and then unbelief took charge. As a result, they called God's promises into question, and brought back an evil report to the people and Moses.

Once again, Satan didn’t make them “sin,” but he used a negative situation to cause the (10) spies and the children of Israel to consider a way other than what God had commanded them. As a result of the evil report from the spies, the children of Israel turned their hearts against the Lord and sinned in God’s sight. Because of their unbelief, Satan was successful at turning the hearts of the people against God by using the emotions that arose from receiving the wicked report. As Christians, we must continually guard our hearts, so that we don’t allow undesirable emotions, like the ones experienced by the Israelites to cause us to make rash decisions, which could lead us to sin against the Lord.

There is much spiritual warfare in the world today against Christians. Satan and his demons are very busy using the negativity in the world to cause Christians to begin to doubt God and His Word. The more we look at circumstances and storms and dwell upon these things in our hearts, the more we become vulnerable to Satan’s schemes and lies.

Therefore, we must constantly guard our hearts against the lies of Satan by standing firmly on the Word of God. God isn’t man that He should lie or the Son of man that He should repent. Those things that God has promised in His Word, He will surely do on our behalf. Even so, we have to guard our hearts and exercise patience. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed with discouragement, fear, doubt, and worry, then this is a Word from the Lord, which will empower you to say “no” to Satan’s lies. You are more than a conqueror through Christ, and He will give you strength to get through the storms of life. Just hold on until the answer comes and the mountain is removed.

Standing Still until the Promise Comes,
Pastor Asa Dockery  

Do You Remember When?

Philippians 3 : 13 - 14, Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. NKJV

Deuteronomy 10 : 17 - 19, For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. NKJV

The Lord laid these two particular passages on my heart for a very specific reason. You will notice in Paul's letter to Philippi that he is instructing the Christians to forget their past and to press toward the goal for the prize of the upward calling in Christ. However, in the second passage from Deuteronomy, God is instructing the people through His prophet, Moses to remember from where He had brought them and to be kind toward strangers because they, too, were once strangers in the land of bondage.

If you take both passages at face value, it seems as if the Bible is contradicting itself; nevertheless, there is a harmony in them that makes for a wonderful story of redemption. First, let's breakdown Paul's writing. When we came to Christ, it required a step of faith and boldness. We knew in our hearts the sins that we had committed and the guilt that was associated with our sins. We also knew that God was fully aware of our past; therefore, we tended to feel somewhat intimidated by it all. Our mind wondered, "What will happen when I confess my sins to the Lord? Will He reject and despise me over my sin and make me feel condemned like others have done?" Consequently, it takes faith to approach God for forgiveness. Satan doesn't want us to know that God doesn't condemn us. As a result, he works overtime using guilt, shame, and fear to keep us away from God's forgiveness and grace.

Nevertheless, you overcame Satan's tactics, faced your fears, and took the guilt and shame of your past to the Father through the blood of Jesus and asked for His forgiveness. Wasn't it amazing when, instead of sensing condemnation, you felt the love of God fill your heart and the acceptance of the Lord when forgiveness was received? There is something glorious that transpires when a sinner gives the heavy burden of sin over to Jesus and receives His forgiveness in their hearts. It's a feeling of release that a believer never forgets.

Now let's address the passage from Deuteronomy. God is instructing the people through Moses to show love toward strangers because they were also once strangers in Egypt. In this passage, He wants them to remember from where He brought them, as former slaves in a strange land, so that they would be compassionate toward others. God didn't want them to remember the guilt and shame of slavery and how terrible they were treated as slaves in Egypt.

If we put the two lessons together, we have a perfect picture of the work of redemption in our own lives through Christ. God wants us to forget everything that pertains to sin before the blood of Jesus cleansed us, but He doesn't want us to forget the goodness and mercy that He so graciously lavished on us when we confessed our sin. Once repentance and confession have been made and forgiveness is given to a sinner, God only wants us to focus on His goodness and from where He has brought us, so that we won't get lifted up, and despise or reject others who might now be where we once were before we came to know Christ.

The Lord can turn mourning into joy and ashes into beauty when we learn how to remember from where God has brought us and how He wants us to forget how our sin made us feel before He forgave us. What great love the Father has given us through His Son, Jesus. Now we must go out and show that same kind of love and compassion toward others and lead them to Christ.

No Greater Love,
Pastor Asa Dockery 

Tempted to Tempt the Lord

Luke 4 : 9 - 12, Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'" NKJV

Christians have many promises given to us in God’s Word that are yes and amen in Christ. Since we are in Christ, and His Spirit lives in us, every promise is ours. God in His infinite love and wisdom has provided promises that cover every area of life. All that God requires of us is that we take Him at His Word and stand on His promises until they manifest in our lives.

In today’s scripture, Satan tempted Jesus to tempt the Lord God. When I sought direction for today’s word, the Holy Spirit instructed me to this particular temptation of Jesus and said to teach His people the warning contained within it. Let’s dissect this story so that we can glean a few powerful insights into what was really going on and why Satan sought to tempt Jesus to tempt the Lord God.

At this point, in the forty days of temptation, Satan had already provoked Jesus in an attempt to get Him to prove His spiritual identity by turning the stone into bread. Since Jesus didn’t give in to the enemy’s invitation, Satan changed his approach just a little. Why did he change the way he tempted Jesus? The first attempt failed; this let Satan know that he wasn’t toying with just anyone. Jesus had responded with authority from the Word. Therefore, Satan pulled a promise out of context and tried to use it to tempt Jesus to put His Father to the test. Nonetheless, Satan’s second method of temptation was also futile. If a particular temptation doesn’t work on a believer, then Satan will move on to the next level.

Even though Jesus is the Son of God, and the promise that Satan used was written about Him, Jesus understood the conditions or context of the promise. If we read the promise in its context, we will see that Satan conveniently omitted a very important part that keeps us from forcing the Lord to protect us while we are in rebellion to the promise. Here is the promise in its entirety. Psalms 91 : 11 - 12, For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. NKJV

I highlighted the omitted part of the promise so you could see the subtlety of Satan. A person would have to know the scripture like Jesus did in order to understand that you can’t tempt the Lord God, even though the promise of protection is written especially for you. You may be wondering, “How would knowing this small omission of scripture keep me from entering temptation and tempting the Lord?”

God tells us in Hosea 4:6 that His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. When we don’t know the Word of God for ourselves, we won’t know when we have “crossed-the-line” and entered into temptation, to the extent that we begin to tempt the Lord God. Jesus knew the Word and quoted it correctly back to Satan. Therefore, we, too, must know the Word so that we can properly respond to Satan. We can learn from today’s teaching that if we are ignorant of the Word of God, then Satan will use it to cause us to “sin against the Lord and then justify our sin” by taking scripture out of context or omitting parts of scripture that holds us accountable to God.

Has Satan tempted you recently to misuse the Word in order to justify a particular sin or way of life that violates the Word of God? If so, then Satan has been effective at getting your cooperation to tempt the Lord your God. God has promised to protect us, but He won’t cover unrepentant sin in our hearts. Love only covers sins that have been confessed and repented of. God gives grace to the humble, but He opposes the proud.

Thank God that He forgives us when we repent and ask for His forgiveness. He covers our sins with the blood of Jesus so that the Tempter can’t exploit our weaknesses to the point of destroying our souls because we committed sin against the Lord. There is nothing as great as the graciousness of our God when we realize that we have crossed-the-line, and we humble ourselves before Him.

Forgiven And Covered,
Pastor Asa Dockery 

Can Christians Have Problems?

Psalms 34 : 17 - 22, The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. NKJV

It seems that the question used in today’s title is an ongoing curiosity; it is often asked by new converts, who come to faith in Jesus for their salvation. Salvation is given to mankind to keep our souls from entering eternal torment. Unfortunately, it does not keep us from experiencing trouble in this life on earth.

I don’t personally know of any promise in God’s Word that specifically says God will keep us from all trouble, heartache, and suffering. However, I could fill up several pages with verses that teach us that saints had to suffer greatly, just because of their faith in Christ. If we are honest with ourselves and read the Bible as it is written, it will end the discussion that asks, “Do Christians have troubles after receiving Christ into their hearts?”

Even so, since we’re on this subject, let’s take the time to dig a little deeper. The same mindset that says, “I won’t have troubles or problems when I become born again,” can later condemn believers when trouble does invade their lives. If you have experienced this, then rest assured it is the voice of condemnation and not the heart of God. God’s Spirit will NEVER contradict God’s Word. Jesus tells us in John 16 : 33, “In this world, you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; for I have overcome the world.” If Jesus says we will have tribulation in this world, then you can be certain trouble is inevitable for believers.

Nevertheless, Jesus shows us in the verse from John’s gospel where our focus and curiosity should rest. You see; before you and I came to faith in Christ, we were “on our own,” so to speak. We didn’t turn to God in times of trouble because we didn’t have faith in God. However, now that we have submitted our hearts to Christ, God has promised to be with us no matter what trouble may come our way. Even though we have faith in Christ, we will still have problems; however, God is with us to deliver us from ALL of them.

Let me leave this final thought with you about Moses’ walk of faith. God appeared to Moses while he was tending sheep on the backside of the desert. After the Lord introduced Himself to him, God instructed Moses to go to Pharaoh and demand the release of His people. Nevertheless, when Moses heard what God had planned, he began to struggle with self-doubt and fear. In response to Moses’ doubt and trepidation, God told Moses, “Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.” KJV

God was about to send Moses into the face of trouble, yet all that He told Moses is, “I will be with you.” It didn’t matter how many signs God showed Moses in Exodus 3, there was only one promise that really gave Moses both the strength to face Pharaoh and the trouble that would follow; it was the promise that God was with him. You may have experienced many signs and miracles that built your confidence to move onward in faith despite the troubles ahead, but miracles aren’t enough to convince us to face trouble; we must have the assurance that God is with us before we can be strong and do great exploits for Him.

What trouble are you faced with today? Are you experiencing condemnation because of the trouble? If you are, then place your complete attention on Jesus and know that He is with you. As a result, you will overcome this problem in your life, and it will become a testimony of God’s faithfulness.

Emmanuel, God Is With Us,
Pastor Asa Dockery

“We Will Fight!”

“We Will Fight!”

Deuteronomy 1 : 41 – 45, "Then you answered and said to me, 'We have sinned against the LORD; we will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.' And when every one of you had girded on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the mountain. "And the LORD said to me, 'Tell them, "Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; lest you be defeated before your enemies."' So I spoke to you; yet you would not listen, but rebelled against the command of the LORD, and presumptuously went up into the mountain. And the Amorites who dwelt in that mountain came out against you and chased you as bees do, and drove you back from Seir to Hormah. Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD would not listen to your voice nor give ear to you. NKJV

Today’s word is one of encouragement; however, it is also filled with Godly wisdom that will help believers avoid the pitfalls of pride and unbelief that sometimes blinds us to our own ways. To understand better all that the Lord is teaching us today please take a moment and read all of Deuteronomy 1.

On the surface, it appears as if the men of Israel repented of their rebellion (sin) against the command of the Lord to possess the land. Nevertheless, instead of obeying the Lord and entering into the Promised Land, they chose to believe the evil report of the ten spies. Israel allowed unbelief to fill their hearts to the point that they took man’s word or assessment of the land over God’s Word, even though they brought back fruit, which proved God’s promises were true.

After the spies gave Moses and Israel the bad report, the people entered into their tents and spoke evil against the Lord, although God had told them the truth. In verse 29 of Deuteronomy 1, Moses begins to chide the men of Israel for turning their hearts against the Lord in unbelief. Afterwards, Moses informed them that God was displeased with their sin; and he let them know that none of the older generation would be able to inherit the land of promise.

However, when the men heard of God’s decision, they seemed to have a change of heart, or did they? They did tell Moses they had sinned against the Lord. Let’s stop here for a moment. Does confession of sin also mean that you have repented of the sin? No, it does not. Let’s continue. Although they had confessed their sin before God and Moses, their hearts were still filled with rebellious pride. Instead of repenting (change of hearts and ways), they decided among themselves that they would NOW obey the command of the Lord to fight the Amorites. When the men told Moses what they were about to do in response to God’s previous command to seize the land, Moses told them not to go because God had told him that He wouldn’t be with them, nor would He fight for them. Nevertheless, the men DEFIED the Lord’s command once again; even though they knew that God wasn’t with them, they pounced on the Amorites. Guess what happened? They got defeated by their enemies.

The spirit of pride and rebellion that blinded the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 1 is alive and well in the hearts of believers today. Let me explain. Whenever the men realized what they had done was sin against the Lord, instead of submitting to the Lord and following His will, they allowed their pride to defy God’s will and sought to fulfill God’s previous command in “their own strength.” How many times has God allowed America and His church in America to endure hardship and even disaster simply because we wouldn’t repent of our sins, even though we’ve gotten up in church and confessed that we had sinned.

I’m sure you can think of things that the church knows are sin, but we haven’t truly repented of them, and we’ve attempted to fight the sin in our own strength. I could probably go on for another few pages, but you have things to do, and places to go. Even so, before I leave you let me ask you one question. Is there an area in your heart that God has said you have sin, and you have confessed it, but haven’t submitted your heart or will to God? If so, then today is the day to bring your sin before the Lord and ask His forgiveness, and seek His ways instead of your own. God will turn your life, and the hard situations that you‘ve been fighting completely around for you.

Praising the Lord for Victory,
Pastor Asa Dockery

Do You know Who You Are?

Acts 27 : 20 – 26, Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.' Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. NKJV

Every person comes into the world with a void in their heart. Consequently, we set out early in life looking for someone or something to fill the emptiness. Perhaps you have sought to discover who you are by entering relationships, but later found that they didn’t meet the need. Some have sought to fill this mysterious void with fortune and fame. However, they realized that neither came close to answering the nagging question of who they are. Let’s look at someone from the Bible that will help us in our search to be made complete.

In Genesis 3, the serpent approached Eve and enticed her to discover her true identity by committing sin against her Creator. Satan found or uncovered a void in Eve that, at first, she may not have even realized was in her heart. Too many times, humans discover they have a need long before they have the opportunity to know how to fill the void, and it can lead them into making destructive choices. Eve is a prime example of what happens when people want “good” things, but choose wrong ways to acquire them.

Satan awoke a need or desire in Eve to be like God, and then he exploited her ignorance and gullibility in order to seduce her into sinning against the Lord, in an attempt to be like God. She had a legitimate need in her heart that began as a godly one; nevertheless, Satan perverted it and captured her attention before she knew the truth. He introduced her to a way of “filling that void” apart from God’s help. Someone might be thinking, “What is so wrong with her desiring to be like God and trying to find it on her own? Didn’t God give her freewill to do just that?” To answer those questions let’s look deeper into what happened in Eve’s life after she sought to become like her Creator and Father through sin. The result of Eve seeking to fill the void in her heart through her own acts of sin caused her great sorrow and emotional anguish in her heart and life (Genesis 3 : 16). Have you ever wondered why people hold onto people and things that cause them pain? It is because they don’t want to experience an even greater pain called “rejection.”

Did you know that Satan loves to rob us by preying on the ignorance that we have concerning our “spiritual identity”? Why does Satan seek to awaken desires in our hearts that begin innocently, but quickly turn into a lifestyle that is fraught with pain and rejection? He wants us to ignore God’s truth and His guidance, so that he can lead us on a destructive path FULL of pain, sorrow, and rejection. You see; rejection is the opposite of affirmation, which is exactly what Eve was after when she considered eating the forbidden fruit. What do you do when you have a need or void, and everything you do only makes life worse?

Because Eve had chosen to become like God by filling the void in her heart apart from going to God, Satan led her to make decisions that would only cause her heartache, regret, and sorrow of heart. When we fill the void in our hearts with “wrong people and things” it just causes pain. When we hold onto that pain, instead of turning our lives over to the Lord, the enemy continues to exploit the pain and causes us to make “poor or wrong” decisions, which then exacerbates the dysfunction and confusion.

If we seek to fill the need in our hearts, which is to be affirmed by our Creator, without turning to God, then we will live in bondage to the pain of rejection. God doesn’t want anyone to live in bondage. It was because of sin that He sent Jesus to earth to die on our behalf. Instead of condemning us for the sin in our hearts, God through Christ has chosen to forgive us and ACCEPT us in Christ. You and I don’t have to turn to the world, bad relationships, or bondage in order to find acceptance. It’s free, and it’s ours, if we will only accept it.

Complete In Christ,
Pastor Asa Dockery