“Burning Out Sin”

By Pastor Tim Burt

Psa 148:7 & Proverbs 1:7 “Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.” “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Mind over matter. That’s a phrase I’ve heard since I’ve been a kid. It somehow implies that our mind is strong enough to take control and master everything we put our mind to. What a lie that is! We all have things we’d like to change and try to make changes in – but with no success. Why is it so impossible to quit doing or thinking about something our flesh loves but we know is not pleasing to God? Unless that fleshly love changes to hate or repulsion it will continue to be a problem. Psalms 97:10 says, You that love the LORD, hate evil: He preserves the souls of his saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.” Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the perverse mouth, do I hate.”

Too many people try to mentally override their flesh to win their battles. It doesn’t take long to figure out the success rate of this is poor to none. This is one reason people fall back into drinking, smoking, sexual misconduct, poor attitudes, and more.

What is the answer? Having fire! Having a passion burn in your heart. There are few things that put a real fire in our heart but when something does, it consumes much of our thought life and time and without realizing it. This is true whether it’s a good passion or a bad passion. You often see this when two people fall in love. It’s like their passion changes many of their behaviors and they begin to think and live differently. Supernatural fire – fire that is from and directed by God is like that. It helps burn out the evil and ungodly in us. How does this fire come to us? We help it come when we begin to open our eyes to the power, to the greatness, and to the majesty of God. A fresh reverence and awe of God soon creates an intolerance for Satan, evil, and the hurt and pain he causes.

In an Old Testament story from 1 Kings, we read about how God’s people had been led astray to entertain and fill their lives with everything evil and false. God used His prophet Elijah to reprove them purposing to break up their fallow hearts and open their eyes. He challenged the false prophets to build an altar and sacrifice that their god’s would come down, accept and burn up. They built the altar but of course nothing happened. All the people watched nothing happen. Then Elijah built his altar to God in front of all the people.

1 Kings 18:31-39. “And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be your name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench around the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that you are the LORD God, and that you have turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, He is the God; the LORD, He is the God.”

When the fire came they instantly knew the truth of who the true God was. The fire of God turned their hearts and set them back on the right path toward Him.

Today’s Fresh Manna verses refer to the reverence and worship of God for all that He is. This Psalm says, that the reverential respect for God – for His Greatness and Holiness is the beginning of all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in God. “Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.” “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Psalm 148 is all about bringing praises to the Creator – God – of the entire universe.

Most everyone can imagine someone – some person they would stand in deep respect and almost awe being in front of. No matter who that person is, how could they possibly compare to Almighty God? They couldn’t!

If will begin to consistently worship the Lord and meditate on all that He is – then this reverential fear will begin to grow in you. It may even overtake you. You want this kind of respect for God to grow within you. It will be a fire to everything that is ungodly and unholy. It will burn the desire for the ungodly out of you. This is how true purification and refining happens. Not mind over matter.

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt
http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com/