THE ROOTS OF ALL EVIL!!!

Praise the Lord everybody, because He alone is worthy to be praised!! I pray everyone is enjoying God's blessing. I was blessed just to get up this morning but I was especially blessed to attend the "Hour of Power" service at my church yesterday for the second time this month. Pastor Green allowed God to use him to bless us with a powerful word and the spirit flowed. It felt great to be able to get out and fellowship. My sciatica which I have come to believe is my "thorn", reared it's ugly head but I was able to push through the pain long enough to enjoy the service by God's grace.

The other day I was reading The Word and began to think about something John the Baptist said in Matthew chapter 3 verses 7-10   7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

The key words here for me were "The Axe is laid unto the root." As many times as I have read this passage of scripture it was like I was seeing it for the first time. I thought about how when we are gardening we use weed whackers to chop down weeds and a few weeks later they grow right back as big as day, mocking us. Why? because we did not deal with the real problem, The Roots!!

John the Baptist was letting the Pharisees and the Sadducees know that God was about to deal with the "root" of His peoples problem, which was them, and that they would have to repent or be cut down. God is also telling His people today that it is time for us to take the axe to the root of our sins. But first we must realize there is a root cause for our sins and we must examine ourselves and identify that root. Are we harboring unresolved Anger, jealousies, pride, forgiveness and lust issues to name a few. If we do not remove these "root" issues from our lives they will continue to pop up disguised at times as all types of sinful behaviors. You may cry out to the Lord "Where is my deliverance?" Your problem may be that you are using a weed whacker when you need to take an axe to the root of the problem.

Then you ask God "where is my axe?"

Jesus once told His disciples in Matthew !7: 16-21   16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Sometimes we try all kinds of superficial means to rid ourselves of our besetting sins but sometimes just as Jesus said we have to fast and pray, turn down our plate and starve our flesh so that our spirit man can thrive and be able to pray with power and authority. We need to deal with those deep seated issues that are the root cause of our behaviors. First we must submit ourselves to God and be led by His spirit and then He will lead us to forgive those we need to forgive, make amends to those we must make amends, show love towards those we hate and to those who hate us and pray and believe God for deliverance from those desires and compulsions that go against God and what He requires of us.

Brothers and sisters let us search for our roots, not to embrace them but to put the axe to them.

        GOD BLESS YOU ALL, BROTHER DARRELL, SPEAKING OFF THE WALL