Get It Out of Your Life Ps. 66: 18-20 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
You have been praying, you have been reading your Bible, and you have been faithfully attending church. Yet, you know that there is something not quite right in your life. It could be that there is something in your life that is grieving the Lord. He has quietly and gently reproved you about this thing but you have not gotten it out of your life. You must get it out of your life. When you do, you will see a definite improvement. Things to get out of your life:
An iniquity – Ps 66:18-20 – there is sin in your heart and you must get it out of your life. It is affecting your prayer life. Praying while regarding iniquity in your heart is like talking to your spouse with bad breath. Getting that iniquity out of your heart is like using a good mouth wash to freshen your breath so that your spouse doesn’t find your conversation offensive. When you get the iniquity out, your prayers will be heard.
A deed – Acts 19:18-20 – you have something that you are allowing in your life that is not what you think of as a sin but it is unacceptable to God. You are prompted to do it by a game that you play, a book or magazine that you read, a website that you visit, a recording that you listen to, or some such thing. It’s like trying to concentrate on your Bible reading after being involved in something else that is now dominating your mind. The work of the word of God is hindered by your deed. You must get that deed out of your life. When you do, the word of God will grow in your life and prevail, like it grew and prevailed at Ephesus.
A secret fault – Ps 19:12-14 – errors, secret faults and presumptuous sins affect your words and meditations. They affect you the same way that traffic, for instance, can aggravate you before coming home. Your spouse catches some of your frustration when you walk in the door. The children of Israel complained and murmured against the Lord the whole way and, yet, God was completely without fault. So, get the secret faults out of your life. Then you will be upright and innocent. The nagging guilt and shame will go away, too. Hence, your words and meditations will be acceptable to God.
A beam – Matt 7:1-5 – it is impossible for you to help your friend remove a “mote” in his eye if you have a beam in your eye. The truth is that the things you can see and judge in other people’s lives are the things with which you are having problems. So, judge yourself and deal with your own beam. Then, not only will the beam that is affecting your vision be out of your life, but then you will be able to honestly help another person who has something similar in his or her life. You won’t be so judgmental, either.
Conclusion: much of our life is affected by stuff in us that needs to come out. This lesson will not be profitable to you unless you go home and ask the Lord to search you for an iniquity, a deed, a secret fault and or a beam that may be hindering your prayer life, Bible reading and fellowship with God and others. When he shows you what it is, get it out of your life.