Stop It!
From Following God's Signals
by Pastor Nave on January 15, 2015
“Stop It!” is the second segment in the Following God’s Signals series. Our key verses for this series are found in John 8:2–11. The focus of today’s lesson is on verse 11, when Jesus tells the woman caught in the act of adultery to, “go and sin no more.” In our walk with God, there are things God will tell us to stop, so we don’t reap the results of our poor behavior.
Starting is easier than stopping in life―mostly because we don’t like the word “no” associated with stopping. We think our way, our thoughts, and our own actions are right. Scripture tells us in Proverbs 14:12, “there is a way which seemeth right unto a man…” (KJV). We must measure ourselves and our actions against the infallible Word of God to determine what is right and what is wrong.
Our culture teaches us that if we do what we want to do, our actions can cause us to go against the God’s Word. In every-mess up, we’re told God’s grace will cover our failure. But, God’s grace is more complex, and more robust, than just covering up what we did that’s wrong. God’s grace tells us to stop what we’re doing―to go and sin no more.
When God tells us to “stop it,” it won’t always stop us dead in our tracks without prior warning. We’re told to stop because many times He’s already talked to us about the circumstance before. We don’t need an explanation of why we should stop because we’ve heard the reasoning before. In these moments, we truly know better than to do what we’ve started out to accomplish, and we don’t need a sermon, a Bible study, or a preacher to tell us otherwise. At other times, God will tell us to “stop it” very abruptly because He doesn’t have time to instruct us as to why we need to stop. In these instances, we may be facing imminent danger! We need God’s grace to stop us before we do something to destroy ourselves.
God places stop signs in our life because He has something better in store for us. We should stop and thank God for His direction and the stop signs He’s placed in our lives instead of ignoring them. We need to remind ourselves that God can see further ahead than us. He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). He wants to save us from our circumstances, but we need to listen to Him.
Stop signs are typically preceded by a yellow, caution light to alert us that a stop is ahead. Stop signs are there to calm traffic, to slow things down, and to alert us to make a decision. Sometimes it’s not that God has a problem with our direction, but how fast we’re going. He wants to stop us and/or slow us down so we don’t miss out on opportunities and blessings He has in store for us along the way. At a stop sign, God gives us an opportunity to stop , look, and listen, but we determine the duration.
Stop lights are typically programmed by traffic engineers to help the flow of traffic. In life, our stop lights are pre-determined by God at specific points in time, for specific lengths of time. God will put these stop lights in our life at key crossroads so we are forced to take time and look for additional signs and warnings, and take time to key into what He’s trying to tell us about the road ahead.
If we see one of these signs, we need to stop, pull over, back-up, and go the opposite direction. These signs require immediate action on our part. If we continue in a direction where God tells us not to enter, there’s nothing but an accident waiting to happen.
No matter what path we choose in life, something is going to stop us somewhere. We’ll be stopped if we listen to God, or if we listen to our self. We call our “freedom of choice” the ability to do what we want, and when we want to do it. We forget that we were created to be ruled and governed by God. He gave us a choice, but we need to choose Him!
It is a fact that we are mastered by what we choose to move toward. Matthew 6:24 says, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (KJV). If we give in to our own desires and our own directions, we will stop hearing God’s voice, and wind up in trouble. There is only one right way―this is God’s way. Don’t become a servant to your “self.”
When we think we have freedom to do what we want, we actually are bound in servitude to a cruel master. We place ourselves under control of our flesh, which will cause havoc in our life. We trade the King for a little king. We trade being ruled verses being controlled. We need to ask ourselves: Do I want to be ruled or controlled? Do I want to place myself under a King who cares for and died for me?
We may find it easier to tell God, “no,” than to tell everything and everyone else, “no.” When we tell our flesh no, our flesh doesn’t like it. When we choose God over self, we become barraged by thoughts and feelings that will come against us and our walk with God. We need to overcome our flesh; don’t tell God’s mercy, “no.” Don’t trade God’s grace and mercy for one day of satisfaction; it’s not worth an eternity of God’s grace. Listen when God says, “stop it” and stay in the safety of His everlasting arms.
