FOOD FOR THOUGHT: II CORINTHIANS 3:17
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
As we allow the Spirit of the Lord to REIGN (prevail) in our lives, we can experience the freedom that He desires for us. Sin, poverty, sickness, lack, unforgiveness, unwholesome or idle thoughts DO NOT
have dominion (supreme authority or control; sovereignty) over us. Liberty does not mean to do as we please to others. We have freedom, but is it lawful in every situation? We should never use our freedom as an occasion for our brother to stumble, e.g. if you invite someone to dinner who doesn’t eat pork due to religious belief, then you should refrain from including pork as a part of the menu. We have the freedom to eat anything we desire in moderation in Jesus’ Name because what God has created let no man call unclean. However, if it offends a person, demonstrate compassion as Jesus did.
The Apostle Paul said in the book of Philippians 3:3, “…to have no confidence in the flesh.” Our redemption in Christ includes freedom from the following works of the flesh: whining, complaining, gossiping, backbiting, envying, competing, evil-speaking, fornication, adultery, ill-tempered, irritability, pre-judging, overeating, lacking self-discipline, frustration, worrying, anxiety, tale bearing, uncontrollable tongue, and destructive criticism, only to name a few. If the body of Christ is going to experience the liberty that Jesus provided, then it must take ascendancy over the flesh by walking in the spirit and the liberty that it has been abundantly supplied.
Liberty means freedom and also believing the best of everyone. There are two categories that will help the believer to attain this “walk of liberty”:
MIRROR
Appraisal
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Evaluation
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Scrutinize
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Value Judgment
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Inventory
LAVER
Cleansing
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Purging
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Repenting
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Forgiving
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Washing
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Purifying
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The Sword of the Spirit
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The Word of God
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James says the man “who looks (mirror) and continues in the perfect law of liberty shall be blessed in his deed” and the book of Ephesians says that we’re “cleansed with the washing of the water by the Word.” Let us as believers WALK IN THE LAW OF LIBERTY!!!!
Minister Grace O. Mebane
Dean of SOBI
