Offense: Abba’s Way of Revealing Our Heart
(6 minutes)
Now, the "Lord" I'm referring to is the Holy Spirit, and wherever he is Lord, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17)
After Jesus multiplied food and fed thousands, He had quite the following. He and the disciples had ventured to another town and the thousands that had just been fed by Jesus tracked Him down, but they weren't there for the right reasons. They were only there to get more of what they wanted. Jesus then tells the crowd that in order to follow Him they would have to eat His body and drink His blood. This is where we pick up the story:
And when many of Jesus' followers heard these things, it caused a stir. "That's disgusting!" they said. "How could anybody accept it?" Without anyone telling him, Jesus knew they were outraged and told them, "Are you offended over my teaching? What will you do when you see the Son of Man ascending into the realm from where he came? The Holy Spirit is the one who gives life, that which is of the natural realm is of no help. The words I speak to you are Spirit and life. But there are still some of your who won't believe." (John 6:60-63)
"What He's saying is, 'You're hearing the truth. You're hearing something that will bring life to you, but you won't believe it, or even attempt to surrender your life to My lordship.'" (Pastor Tim)
Sometimes Jesus has to shock us out of the system of control that we've built our life around. You can always tell when He's doing this because it will offend you in some way, just like the words He spoke in John 6 offended His followers. Something has to jolt us out of the place where we are calling Jesus our Savior, but not embracing Him as Lord. And Abba's goodness is perfectly fine with offending our minds in order to reveal our hearts. How far would you go for one of your own children if knew their freedom was hanging in the balance?
I want to echo these words again: you can have control or you can have freedom, but you can't have both. This is what 2 Corinthians 3:17, is inviting us into - freedom. But it will require us to trust Abba in every area of our lives. That's what Lordship is really about - trust. In the areas where we trust Abba, we are fine with Him being Lord. It's the areas where we still think there's a trace of darkness in Him where we struggle to make Him Lord.
This is an invitation into trusting Abba and letting Him convince you that He is pure light, not having a trace of darkness in Him at all. This is an invitation to encounter an even greater degree of His goodness. And it's on the other side of Lordship.
Who's making the decisions for you? You or the Spirit of Yahweh inside of you?
These may be hard words to hear, but just like Jesus' words in John 6, they're meant to reveal your heart so you can start being honest with yourself and honest with Abba.
Where the Spirit is Lord, there is freedom. But what about the areas where He is not Lord? Well, what's the opposite of freedom? Captivity. Slavery. Bondage. This is not what Abba wants for His beloved sons and daughters, which is why He's so fierce in coming against everything that's hindering the love that we're destined to share with Him.
At last we have freedom, for Christ has set us free! We must always cherish this truth and firmly refuse to go back into the bondage of our past. (Galatians 5:1)
For if you embrace the truth, it will release true freedom into your lives. (John 8:32)
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Worship: "Make Room" by Community Music
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!
