Sobering Thoughts

Sobering Thought

12/10/17

Being sober can mean a variety of states that our bodies can present but as most of us understand there is a couple that usually stands above the other meanings of this word.  There is a reason for this behind this statement for it is a plan that our enemy wants you to follow and to ignore what is said in the Word of God.  It is important for people to understand that in order to know God’s Word we must have no physical bias present and it is this state of heart that defines this word and the condition we must be in when we come to God.  We have lost this truth and until we turn back to God with a pure heart our lives will continue to be over the barrier that we crossed with God.  God urges us to become sober in spirit once again so that our hearts can know Him and His plan for our lives.

When most people use this term it is common thought that they are referring to a drinking problem plagued them for a long period of time and now they have discontinued that habit.  It can also mean that a person has not been partying for a few days as well and that their thoughts and mind are clear on a temporary basis with the intent on becoming in another inebriated state at some time in the future.  The majority of us has had such thoughts of drunkenness and has accomplished this feat quite successfully, some to the point where it takes days to recover from such binges and many do not remember what occurred or what they did during those moments.  I can honestly say that I have never been in this type of state and that I have never had to wonder what I did the next day or on Monday either.  I have never allowed my mind to become to a position where I am no longer in control of what I can do, say, or remember.  I am proud to be able to say this for I have had my chances to become in such a state but chose never to do such an act.  I am not placing myself on a pedestal but in the line of work that I am in I have witnessed countless of people in this state and I have studied what it has done to their lives, both at that moment and in their futures.

Alcohol is not the only drug that can place a human into this “I cannot remember what I did last night” setting, for there are recreational drugs that can provide the same type of placement.  I have never done any of these types of drugs either and I give the same reason as above as to why I can honestly say this statement.  In 35 plus years in the medical field, I have witnessed and heard many a mother’s cry over her dead child for the news that the physician had to give to her and her family.  I personally have witnessed the brokenness that was present before the setting and at the time of the death and in a few cases after the death.  In each case, the trauma of such settings is horrific to watch transpire and it is a remembrance that one never forgets.  It is this memory that brings to my life a sobering thought and it places this word into a new understanding that lies both in the physical and in the spiritual.  Our enemy does not want you to be sober in either the physical or the spiritual for if you stay impaired then you are at the mercy of his roar and that roar will eventually tear you apart.

The definition of the word “sober” has numerous amounts of meanings with one being an adjective and another being a verb.  While these definitions are similar one must understand how the word is being used in the sentence in order to know which meaning the author is getting at.  Many of the schools today do not teach their students how to diagram a sentence which serves as a problem when these kids get into higher stages of learning or in the workforce.  Anyway, the tense selection that will be used in this topic will be of a verb nature which is how the author of the verse we will be using intended on it being understood.  So, the definition we will be using here comes in the meaning: make or become more serious, sensible, and solemn.  This definition means that no bias can be formed either in order for the truth to be understood when it is presented, the conscious must be clear and unaltered at all times when it comes to understanding what goes on around us.  If any noticed or accepted article is introduced into the equation it makes the status of this state invalid for the ultimate control has been taken away from that individual.

Now, as mentioned above this message is not just about alcohol or drugs and the influence that they have on our lives, but these two issues are a representative of what occurs when our minds are altered by such substances.  It will describe the condition of the mind and heart when it is influenced by outside sources that bias our lives into believing lies and thus desire not to advance our knowledge about what is really occurring around us and to have a closer and deeper relationship with Christ and God’s Word.  It is these two foundational and life-giving sources that we need to understand in their entirety and purity in order to know where our enemy is, who our enemy is and to understand how to combat him when he displays his roar and presence.  This understanding also provides our enemy and his subjects how strong we are against the world as well.  When one looks at this upcoming verse and the meaning of the word sober and desires to understand how to defend against the enemy, it automatically allows us to disengage from any activity that would hinder us from advancing the Kingdom of God willingly and voluntarily.  Do we get or are we getting the job done in this sober manner according to 1 Peter 5:8?

1 Peter 5:8 states as follows: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”  This portion of this verse was not in my original plans but I have always been amazed at how God uses His Word to grab one’s attention for a certain detail then expounds on that detail even if it is concerning the same verse at a later time.  God is good all the time and it is so wonderful to learn truthful words from Him and it looks like there may be at least two more articles on this verse before God shows us something else in another part of His Word.  I love the order that is presented here in this verse for through it, it sheds light on how we should be before we can understand the enemy that is in our presence and before the verse closes it gives us a specific directive about the enemy and what his job is.  This verse can provide us with so much detail about our lives and the life of our enemy if we only turn our hearts towards what God says here and live by it every day.  If we can keep the order of this verse intact, our lives will be so much easier and this is a guarantee from God.

When a person is of a sober stance, things around them shall not pass by without notice and it will easy to detect anything that might present a danger to them or to others around.  We can still carry on with our daily journey and act normally for if we did not do such a thing then we would be the conspicuous one that stood out like a sore thumb.  Having a clear spirit that is not clouded with any spiritual obstacles or spiritual embargos will have a direct communication with God that will serve as a protection against such potential disasters.  This clarity of spiritual life also has a direct advantage on a personal side of things for it will give us this same direct communication link with God when we open our hearts to His Word.  When we study God’s Word with this type of heart it takes all aspects of self out of the picture.  God is not biased to whom He gives His Word to nor is He biased to whose heart He shows His message to either but in order to receive and then understand what God’s Word means to our lives we must be of a sober heart that does not contain any bias for if there is any present our view of what God wants us to share with others will be based on a worldly point and not of an eternal truth.  That is why it is important for us to continually allow God to have access to our heart so that He can clear away all of the self-righteous indignations that we love to harbor.

The word sober used here in this verse is perfect for it sets the stage for us to be in perfect unity with God both in the physical term and more importantly the spiritual aspect of our lives.  If we try and defend ourselves against an enemy attack while distracted by the world around us or with worldly goods in our spiritual possession how do you believe we would serve in our defense?  Here is the perfect example of what occurs when a nation, country, or individual tries to serve two masters, it cannot work on any level.  This verse proves that one must be of one kingdom in order to serve effectively for a life and here Peter gives us a specific statement on how we should be and where we should be spiritually as well.  But as God’s message “The Roar” brilliantly stated if we cannot live under these purified conditions we will eventually get used to the roar of our enemy and ignore the warnings he gives thus subjecting us to his attack at his leisure.  Being sober in the spirit is the correct lineage that our lives must be in to understand what is going on around us, for this lining up places spirit first then the emotions and flesh and when this path of our inner lives is taken the physical will have to submit to the spiritual.

When we are not sober, the condition we place ourselves in is one of vulnerability.  We are masters of our own hearts and minds for if we were not then we would not have free will and free choice to make such decisions.  Choice is a great opportunity given to us by God but if we are clouded by the lie of the world and keep this type of thinking first in our hearts then we are placed in a defenseless position and will easily be taken out when the attacks arrive.  In fact, we will be so vulnerable that Satan himself will not have to even be around to issue the attack, he can get one of his minions to do the job for him, a “benefit” that comes with being associated with the world.  Satan has no desire to make you happy, but to destroy you by your own lifestyle in the world.  Do you understand that a true believer who is grounded in the Word of God can spot or recognize a person, minister, ministry, denomination, or even nation who has succumbed to the world and is not sober in the spirit?  Something to think about and pray about for this realm of worldly belief is present in our churches and it is running rampant as many people are led astray by such actions.

In all honesty, if we allow selfish interpretations to enter into our hearts so that we can attract certain portions of the population that is building your church instead of building and then advancing Jesus’ Church.  Accepting worldly standards is a prime example of a person, minister, ministry, denomination, and nation having a drunken or non-sober spiritual heart making decisions and it is an abomination before God for the true message of salvation is NOT being told to those who need it.  You cannot tell the truth when you accept the exact same sin in your life as a gift from God.  Think about that!  A person studying the Word of God hoping to find an exception to His Truth for a human’s incumbent interpretation cannot understand the eternal Truth of the Bible.  Oh, Satan will provide a person with such information according to what is in their heart (door and roar) because he understands the Bible better than people do and he will manipulate its content when we do not fully comprehend the magnitude of God’s Word.

Stop and think about something for a moment concerning the importance of the order in this verse.  If our soberness is skewed in any way, it means that our vigilance will be skewed in some manner as well.  Then we will not be able to recognize that the devil is our enemy which means we will not be able to hear with our spiritual ears his roaring.  Then when this flawed belief reaches this point we will not be able to see our enemy walking around us bringing things together to begin an attack on our lives.  Most importantly we will not be able to understand that his final desire to destroy (devour) our lives in every way with the eternal intention of permanent separation from God.  This entire paragraph is stated in this one verse and if we do not grasp this concept we are sunk and will not have any defenses against our enemy and will walk blindly right into any trap he sets before us.  Does this sound familiar to you with what is going on and what is coming out each day in this country?

Selfish interpretations of the Bible are NOT sobering thoughts and only represent a service to cloud our spiritual hearts from the Truth that God wants us to acknowledge and understand.  When we accept these interpretations as beliefs we place our soul back in front of our spirit which is a dangerous position to live in because it places us in a predicament with God for He cannot continue to bless and to protect a rebellious person or nation.  Having a sober mind means that we continually keep our heart’s door open to God so that He can have access to our hearts on a regular basis and clean it according to His Word.  There is no way possible that we can be vigilant, the next step in this verse if we do not have a sober spirit.  Satan will tell you and convince you that having your own interpretation of Bible content is ok and that your opinion has a valued customer status, but in truth this is a lie that will eternally separate you from God because the one that is feeding you with this nonsense was defeated himself long before you came to this earth.  There is a reason for each and every word in the Bible and it is our duty to study God’s Word as much as possible in order to understand life that He has ordained for us.

Church, having a true and holy sober spirit will give us the energy necessary to be vigilant at all times.  I believe that if you take a hard look at your spirit you will understand that you are not sober by any means.  We have become imbibed with so many lies from our enemy which now act like addictions and through these worldly addictions there is no way possible to have any steadfastness or vigilance.  This state of ours means we cannot recognize who the enemy is and it also gives rise as to why each day we throw God out of our lives for we cannot discern who the real enemy is.  The one command Jesus gave to His Church is to go into the world and to teach and preach the gospel to a dying world.  This will be a hard statement for some but it is a statement that needs to be said for there are billions of lives at stake here.  If we do not approach the Word of God and the mission that Jesus gave us with pure and sober spirits our light shall not be present and we will, therefore, present a false gospel.

Jesus met the woman at the well, stayed for a weekend revival but before the revival took place He had to teach His own disciples what the fields of harvest truly was.  Jesus was not talking about the physical wheat harvest even though He used it as a visual for His words.  The true harvest involves those people (fields) that do not know God and are in dire need of God in their lives.  The disciples did not have a true sober spirit in this passage and Jesus was trying His best to teach them this truth long before Peter mentioned it.  That is okay because Adam and Eve missed it, Moses missed it, Abraham and David missed it, all of us have missed it.  But we can now pray and allow God to give us such a sober spirit so we can truly know the harvest.  Church, Jesus loves you but in order for us to understand this love of His, we must be of a sober heart with NO selfish interpretations of His Word.  Become clean through God and He will give you the burden to see the fields for they are ripe and ready for harvest, a sobering detail that provides us with a multitude of sobering thoughts.

DLB