24 Mar Dealing with Feeling (Let your feelings in the car, just don’t let them in the driver’s seat) PART 1
We live in a society that worships our feelings! I recently read a very eye opening letter from a very famous Christian songwriter and worship leader in the music arena. In this letter, he openly discussed how he was feeling and as a result, was walking away from Jesus and Christianity. All because he was following how he felt and not what the Bible says.
Over the past years I have watched pastors, leaders and entire denominations walk away from the Word of God simply based on what they presently feel! Approximately two thousand years ago Paul by the Holy Spirit prophesied to his protégé in the faith, Timothy, and said, “Now the Spirit speaks expressly, in the last days some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils” (I Tim. 4:1).
The Greek word translated “expressly” is “rhetos”. “Rhetos” literally means “clearly or vividly”. The Greek word translated “last” literally means “last of the last” days. The word “depart” is a compound Greek word “apohestemi”, “apo” means “away” and “hestemi” means to stand. Put these together and it literally means “to stand away” from something. In this same verse, Paul is talking about people standing away or leaving the Word of God (we get our English word “apostasy” from this Greek word).
The word “seducing” is the Greek word “planao”. This word denotes a “slow moving away from”. Finally, the Greek word translated “doctrine” is the word “didaskalia” which means “teaching”. If you put all of this together, you have in the “J.I.V.” translation (Jim’s Intelligent Version)… “Now the Spirit speaks vividly or clearly that in the last of the last days, some shall stand away from and leave the Word of God giving heed to spirits that slowly seduce and teachings of devils.”
I truly believe we are in that time and one of the things that is getting so many off the Word of God is simply following one’s feelings instead of the Bible. People are identifying not by biology or genetics, but by how they feel!
Please don’t mistake me, God has feelings (see Hebrews 4:15) and gave you feelings, but He never intended for you to live by them! If you don’t believe that, simply and solely live by your feelings for one solid month. I will gladly then visit you in jail! Let feelings in your car, just don’t let them in the driver’s seat.
Let’s discuss this with “14 Dynamics of Dealing with Feeling”:
- Don’t hide behind a mask, but don’t live behind your feelings (II Tim. 1:5, II Cor. 6:6).
The Bible tells us in these verses, “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in you also.” From II Corinthians 6:6, “By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by love unfeigned.”
Notice the phrase “faith unfeigned” and “love unfeigned”. The Greek word translated “unfeigned” is “ahupocrites”. “Hupocrites” is where we get our English word “hypocrite” from. This word is a Greek theatrical word that literally means “one who lives behind a mask”. When the prefix “a” is placed in front of a Greek word, it means “non” or “not hypocritical”. In other words, Paul by the Holy Spirit is telling us not to have hypocritical love or faith…don’t live behind a mask.
Join us over the next several weeks as we continue this series…