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It is time to stop, look, and listen! We must stop for a moment in this busy rushing world, or we may entertain worldly things that should be rejected and cast off. Unless we take time to look at the Word of God, we will never be able to fortify our inner man with the triumph and truth of God’s Word. Unless we get quiet and listen for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, we may never hear the direction God has planned for our lives. In thinking about these precautions, it becomes more apparent that what we are placing in our inner man – or our spirit – must be the Word of God so that what we speak out of our mouth is positive, the absolute truth that liberates and frees. As our text points out, we must be willing to let God search our heart (which is the very core of our being) and make sure our spirit is filled with His truth. Why? So that our thoughts are correct, and to make sure there is no ungodly or wicked way in our heart. If we take time to do this, then what comes out of our spirit and our mouth is the truth and the way everlasting. A great deal of my early career has been in the automotive business. I have been thinking about “emission control” and how this operates. This is a thumbnail sketch: the outside air coming into the car’s carburetor is mixed with the gasoline, which causes a pressure on the valves, which in turn pushes the pistons that drives the drive shaft and causes the wheels to turn. That is very simplistic, but the idea remains that the exhaust from the engine creates the turning of gears and that exhaust must be emitted out of the engine. It wasn’t until after World War 11 that an inventor came up with the idea of a catalytic converter. Its chief function is to purify the exhaust fumes that come from a combustible engine. It is those fumes that cause pollution in the air we breathe. This converter helps to overcome that pollution. Now, lets translate this action of “emission control” into our human experience so that we will learn how to be a catalytic converter for the pressure we take into our spirit from the world around us. It is necessary to eradicate any impurity we take in, so that what we emit out of our mouth is the power and pureness of God’s Word. For instance, we live in this world and our eyes and ears take in the world’s activities. It’s not that we intentionally try to take in these thoughts, but they are around us 24-7 and it happens! What is the emission control we use to eradicate the lies we may have taken in? Whatever is permitted into our spirit will be spoken out. We want the words we speak to be healing. Simply put, our spirit must be so full of the Word of God, that influences from the world trying to get into our spirit (inner man) are immediately rejected and pushed out. Our “emission control” – a spirit full of God’s Word – will simply dissolve the harmful thoughts of the world before they can do damage. Therefore, when we speak, our words bring healing and salvation to others. “You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.” (1stPeter 3:4 New Living Bible) We see in this scripture that when our spirit is full of the Word of God, those corrupt outside influences cannot do damage. This is our damage control system. “Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t be afraid and don’t worry. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak evil against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.” (1st Peter 3:13-16 New Living Bible). Can you see how any corruption in our spirit man from the world can be purified by the Word of God? That is our “emission control” system. When we put that system to work, then what comes out of our mouth will always be the positive, healing power of God. Are you thinking, “Well, with all that’s going on in the world today, how can one defend themselves from the onslaught of the negative world activity?" There is something we as believers in Christ must do; the very first thing is to be sure Jesus is really the Lord of our life, not just a great person or Prophet you believe in. You must ask Jesus to be the Lord over your life, and then you have to let Him be that Lord. I’m not saying it is always easy to live in this world and have a rosy outlook. There will be challenges. But the more the Word is built up in you, the easier it gets. One thing is certain and that is found in Ecclesiastes 8:5 KJV: “Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.” A wise man – one who fills his spirit with God’s Word – will be able to discern the right time and know what to do. Jesus gave us a new commandment. If we will walk in obedience to it, we will automatically keep the ten set forth through Moses. We find this command in the book of John. “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (John 13:34 KJV) Walking in this kind of love is a choice we make every moment of each day. When someone does something rude or unkind, we can choose to get offended or we can choose to walk in the agape love of Jesus. When we choose to obey His commands, our right choice protects us from the evil that can only deceive. Remember this always: Jesus defeated Satan. Satan has no power; he can only whisper lies into your ear. If you choose to listen and receive his lies, then you open the door to evil in its various manifestations. But it is always your choice. Choose Jesus’ way and have the victory! And if your flesh doesn’t want to let go of the offense, then you must take authority over that fleshy feeling and tell it to bow before Jesus. Yes! Choose Jesus’ way and have the victory! God’s love for mankind, His creation, was formed before the foundation of the world. We must exercise the determination to let God be God to us, and not let the world run roughshod over us. But again, it is our choice. He has given his precious creation free will. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him. But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by His Spirit. And His Spirit searches out everything and shows us even God’s deep secrets.” (1st Corinthians 2:9, 10 New Living Translation Bible). First of all, this scripture shows us that with the Holy Spirit living in us there are no mysteries we cannot understand. We may not grasp it all right now, but it is not some hidden mystery God refuses to reveal to us. The Holy Spirit will reveal it as we draw closer and closer to Him through God’s Word. We can go back to the beginning when God created the world; everything that He made was good, but the good was perverted when Adam and Eve made wrong choices. They yielded up their dominion over everything God had given them. That wrong choice brought Satan into control. But Jesus! Yes, Jesus! God’s only Son came to reconcile man back to God: Jesus took back the keys of the kingdom from Satan. Now anyone who chooses Jesus as Lord, can be free from every lie with which Satan tries to deceive us. Believers in this present world will have to exercise the power and authority Jesus won for them. He gave to the believers that power and authority, to defeat Satan here on the earth. I believe in my heart, with the authority Jesus gave to the believer, we can win this present world; we can defeat one evil lie at a time with the truth and power of God’s Word. We find this scripture in (Luke 9:1New Living Translation Bible) – “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.” Are the born again children of God, disciple’s of Christ? The Bible says we are. “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples.” (John 15:7,8 KJV) With God directing our heart and providing the Word that will deliver and heal, we can have confidence that the Lord is guiding us to victory. He is Jehovah Nissi, whose banner over us is love. It totally encompasses us so that we walk a successful, victorious walk each and every day, but we have to know that and speak it out of our mouth. When we fill our heart full of the Truth of God’s Word, what comes out of us will be the healing balm that brings right standing with Christ. We read in Romans 10:10 KJV, “for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” So we see that a heart full of the Truth will only speak out the purity of Love, which gives us right standing with God. That makes for true victory in this present world. And that is our emission control. Our job is to continuously separate ourselves from worldly lust in any form. We can live honest and noble lives simply by following Jesus and doing what He accomplished in His life. Someone might say, “Well we certainly are not Jesus!” No we are not; but Jesus sent us His Holy Spirit, who lives in us, so that we now have the authority and the right, through the Holy Spirit, to live a Godly, Christian life with victory and success. And just how do we do that? By refusing to listen to the nonsense of the world and its attitudes, thoughts, lies and deceptions. Let’s look at Hebrews 10:22-24 KJV. “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Pure water being the Word of God.) Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering: (for He is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:” When we are determined to do God’s Word, then the job as His representative on earth will be that much easier. Remember Jesus has given the believer the authority to call on His power to overcome any situation that we face. May our spirit be the converter that emits only the power of love; may our soul (will, mind and emotions) always make the right Godly choices; may we understand, in the natural, that this is the true “emission control “ of faith and love, the power of God activated here on earth!
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