The secret that is not a secret!

Scripture Read: 1 Timothy 6:11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.

Application: We now come to the secret for victory in our war against the flesh. Why do I say secret? Has God hidden it? Obviously the answer is no, because here and through out scripture the principle is plainly stated, the problem is, and it is typical for we humans, we stop short of digesting the entire principle. We have no problem understanding the "fleeing" part, but we stop there and we should not. I believe some of this comes from our learning the story of Joseph with Potiphar’s wife, where he fled from her. That was the right move, but in that narrative it is left unsaid where he fled to. The other problem we have is what happens to so many of us immediately after salvation. We flee our old life, which is great and freeing. However, if we aren't careful that becomes our testimony; a "don't list"! When we tell everyone what Christ has done for us many times it is nothing more than a long list of what we don't do anymore. That is not the Christian life nor is it going to lead to real victory in our lives. Paul shows us clearly there is a two step approach - flee & pursue.

The word for both these words is διώκω - diōkō; 1 to make to run or flee, put to flight, drive away. 2 to run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing, to run after, to press on.

We need to flee from our weaknesses, but more importantly pursue Christ. First: You must Identify what you are fleeing from - this requires you to take a honest look into your  weaknesses and where the enemy would be most likely to attack. Scripture gives us many descriptions of how the sinful nature manifests itself, here is just one list.

Galatians 5:19-21  The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; [20] idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions [21] and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Second: Must see yourself not just moving away from sin, but also driving toward Christ. If all you do is clean out a lot of areas in your life, but do not fill at the same time those new voids with God then either:

A. Something else will fill it but not something that moves you toward God

B. The same thing will fill it, and most times it will be stronger than before.

2 Peter 2:20  If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.

How many are struggling with the same old sins and think "if I could just stop this one sin I would be a great Christian". To begin with that is not very honest, because the struggle with sin and the flesh will go on until we go home. Also, that thought shows you are being consumed by your focus on your failures. You need to focus your attention on someone else, notice I said SOMEONE not something! Paul understood this principle, he forgot his past and focused to the future.

Philip. 3:13-14 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Could you imagine Trying to walk down the street with your head turned around looking behind you? Besides being silly looking, it would be dangerous and you would not get very far. Stop spending your Christian life looking back, instead look ahead toward Christ and chase after Him! Flee, yes, but more importantly PURSUE!

Meditation Questions: Are most of your prayers asking for forgiveness and telling God you are sorry? Why? Can you confess a sin and immediately sense that you are right with God? What does your answer show? How much of your life is based on “don’ts” vs. “Dos”? What does that say? Do you know your weaknesses? How much regret do you carry around in you at the conscious level? Can you learn from your mistakes, thank God for forgiveness and focus on where you are with Christ right now? If yes, why not do it? In no, what needs to happen for you to move to your future? When was the last time you thanked God for His forgiveness and walked away from the memory of the sin.