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The Marks of The Broken And The Unbroken Life (Zacharias T. Fomum)

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A voice for personal spiritual revival  n°0012

 

THE BROKEN LIFE

THE UNBROKEN LIFE

 THEY ARE SELFLESS AND CHRIST-CENTRED

  1. They labour to put others first.

  2. They put the interests of others ahead of their own interests.

  3. They consciously allow others to use them to accomplish their own goals.

  4. They love God’s will and have no personal interest which will be crushed by the will of God.

  5. They give with no thought nor desire to receive.

  6. They preferentially give to those who will never be able to give back to them in any way.

  7. They are self-effacing and labour to hide their accomplishments.

  8. They are put off by praise and honour from men.

THEY ARE SELFISH AND SELF-CENTRED

  1. They want to be first all the time.

  2. They put their own interests ahead of those of others.

  3. They exploit others and use them to accomplish their own goals.

  4. They fear that God’s will will interfere with their selfish interests.

  5. They give so as to receive in return.

  6. They give to those who will give back to them in kind or otherwise.

  7. They want to be known for what they give or do.

  8. They love praise and honour from men.

THEY ARE TRUSTING AND BELIEVING

  1. They believe people until these prove untrue and, even then, they are prepared to believe people who failed in the past but have repented.

  2. They impute right motives even to the mistakes of others, giving them the benefit of the doubt.

  3. They always see good intentions even in the failures of others.

 

THEY ARE FULL OF DOUBT AND UNBELIEF

  1. They doubt everyone except themselves. They are hard and when you have fallen out of their favour, nothing can ever bring you back into it.

  2. They impute evil motives to the acts of others.

  3. They always see some evil in any good thing done by another person.

THEY HATE SIN

  1. They hate sin even if there were no consequence(s) of it.

  2. Sin makes them totally sick.

  3. They hate all the products of sin.

  4. They repent of their sin and expose it.

  5. They hate sin, first of all, for what it is and only secondarily, for what it does.

  6. They are primarily concerned with what God thinks about their sin.

THEY LOVE SIN

  1. They enjoy sin but hate the evil consequence(s) of it upon themselves.

  2. They want to sin if they can do so without consequences.

  3. They love the products of sin, provided the consequences of sin are borne by others.

  4. They seek ways to cover sin instead of repenting of it.

  5. They are sorry about sin, not because it is evil, but because of the harm it causes.

  6. They are primarily concerned with what man thinks about their sin.

THEY ARE MOVED BY WHAT HAPPENS IN THE INSIDE

  1. They respond to the internal.

  2. They are moved by what is felt by their spirit in response to the Holy Spirit.

  3. They are primarily moved and respond to the love of the Father.

THEY ARE MOVED BY WHAT HAPPENS ON THE OUTSIDE

  1. They respond to the externals.

  2. They are moved by what they see, hear and feel in response to their outward environment.

  3. They react when loved or not loved by man or men.

THEY EXPOSE THEMSELVES, ESPECIALLY THEIR FAULTS

  1. They are true.

  2. They expose their faults.

  3. They own up to their faults, sins and failures immediately.

  4. They run away from those who flatter them and seek the company of those who tell them the truth about themselves.

  5. They tell people the truth about themselves and do not bother to maintain any relationship that is built on falsehood.

  6. They rejoice and gladly accept honest criticism.

  7. They gladly accept criticism, even if it comes from an enemy. They are concerned with the facts of the criticism and refuse to bother about the motive.

  8. They deal harshly with any weaknesses in themselves and refuse to justify them.

THEY HIDE THINGS ABOUT THEMSELVES, ESPECIALLY THEIR FAULTS

  1. They are hypocrites.

  2. They hide all that is wrong about them.

  3. They justify their sins, faults and failures.

  4. They run away from those who tell them the truth about themselves.

  5. They are afraid to point out the failures of people for fear of losing a place in their hearts.

  6. They are hurt and wounded by honest criticism.

  7. When criticised, they refuse to face the facts and get concerned about the motive of the critic.

  8. They hardly do anything about their weaknesses beyond justifying their presence.

THEY KNOW HOW TO YIELD

  1. They are willing to let go their rights and privileges.

  2. They are prepared to go a second mile.

  3. They are prepared to turn the other cheek.

  4. They would rather suffer loss than hit back.

  5. They are like worms. If you step on them, they put down their heads and burrow into the earth (Psalm 22:6).

  6. They are humble; for they know themselves as indeed God knows them.

  7. They have their confidence in the Lord and in Him alone. They have no confidence in the flesh, not even in their own flesh.

  8. They rejoice when others are well-spoken of. They rejoice when others are promoted.

  9. They sorrow at the failure of others.

  10. They are loyal.

  11. They promote others. They push them up.

  12. They enjoy the company of equals and superiors.

  13. They are at home, regardless of whether they are receiving or giving commands.

  14. They pray and think and then act.

  15. They seek God, receive His position on things, decide on the basis of what they have received and would not change.

  16. They praise that which is praise-worthy and condemn that which is bad.

  17. They will actively participate in a project for the glory of the Lord, regardless of who receives the praises from man.

  18. They are not easily moved. They are stable. Their joy is from the Lord and is abiding.

  19. They readily forgive and forget.

  20. When they are faced with an obstacle they do not seek a way out, but, knowing God as the Lord of all circumstances, they turn to Him and ask,‟Lord, what are You saying ?” They then act depending on what He says.

 

THEY ARE UNYIELDING

  1. They insist upon their rights.

  2. They insist upon having their due.

  3. They insist upon ‘an eye for an eye’.

  4. They are revengeful.

  5. They are like serpents. If you hit them, they raise their heads, prepared to strike back.

  6. They are proud, partly because they are blind, and their knowledge about themselves is distorted.

  7. They are self-confident; they have much confidence in their flesh and they have no confidence in others.

  8. They are hurt when others are well-spoken of. They are hurt when others are promoted.

  9. They rejoice at the failure of others.

  10. They are disloyal but pretend to be loyal.

  11. They pull others down and demote them.

  12. They hate the company of equals and superiors.

  13. They resist being commanded but enjoy commanding others.

  14. They act before they think: they are rash.

  15. They change their minds on things easily because they made up their minds rather hastily.

  16. They flatter people in order to get favours from them.

  17. They will participate in a project only if they will receive honour from it or if their ideas are being implemented.

  18. They easily get excited and easily lose the excitement. They are unstable. Their joy is from the world and is temporal.

  19. They hardly forgive and tend to be bitter.

  20. They always look for natural ways out of a difficulty and would not consult God about it. Because they are able on their own, they remove every barrier or blame God or the devil for it and keep going on.

THEY ARE OFTEN QUIET. THEY LISTEN

  1. They love the company of God.

  2. They enjoy the presence of man but they prefer the presence of God. They are at home in His presence, be it for hours or days.

  3. They talk or keep quiet in response to the move of the Holy Spirit.

  4. They build a deep relationship and then other relationships of varying depths as is appropriate. They are transparent as the relationship demands.

  5. They make promises thoughtfully and keep the promises they make. If they fail to keep a promise, they repent and ask for forgiveness.

  6. They give and give and give.

  7. They believe God and they believe His Word.

  8. They do not demand signs, proofs and evidence. They are content with what God has said.

  9. They believe in the goodness of the Lord, regardless of what they are experiencing.

  10. They yield to the authority of God completely.

  11. They often ask God questions that will enable them to receive guidance from Him. They know how little their own knowledge is.

  12. They learn from the circumstances of life.

  13. When they are faced with contradictory evidence, they stop, investigate further, ask for more evidence and ascertain things before they move on.

  14. They weigh things on the eternal scale and stubbornly refuse to satisfy the passions of the moment.

  15. They are often conscious of their own failures and weaknesses and, therefore, act mercifully towards others who fail.

  16. They know that their time belongs 100 % to the Lord and they have to receive permission from Him before they use it.

  17. Their generosity is deep-seated and obvious, but they do not advertise it.

  18. They speak out when they do not agree and do not practice hypocrisy or deceit.

  19. When the Lord shows them that something will come to pass, they ask the Lord how that thing will come to pass. They receive things from the Lord and thereby know if they are to act or just wait on the Lord. They have rejected all underhanded methods and will not use any, regardless of how difficult the situation may be.

  20. They take the blame for their failures and faults and are prepared to take the blame for the failures of others.

  21. They desire spiritual riches.

  22. They are content with what they have and do not dream of increasing their possessions.

  23. They are unmoved by anything that they have materially.

  24. They treat everyone with respect and are not moved by the superficial elements of possessions or positions.

  25. They make the Lord their only Security.

  26. When faced with a problem, they wait on the Lord. They hear His voice and then they act as the Lord says.

  27. They are at rest. Even when involved in a lot of outward activity, they are at rest inwardly.

  28. They confess sin immediately and ask for forgiveness, and they do it with ease.

  29. They know that time will not remove any barrier and so they put their relationships right with God and with man through recognition of sin, acknowledgement of sin, confession and forsaking of sin.

  30. They concentrate on the needs of others.

  31. They refuse the help that is given them unless they are in dire need. Their refusal is not pride, but the desire to see the other person comfortable.

  32. They hold their peace under great provocation.

  33. The Lord counts on them. He commands them and He sends them to run His errands.

THEY CANNOT BE QUIET. THEY CANNOT LISTEN

  1. They love the company of man.

  2. They cannot stand being in God’s presence and, therefore, they pray only for short periods and are frightened by the possibility of spending many hours or days with God alone.

  3. They are talkative or withdrawn.

  4. They ‘build’ many superficial relationships in which they put in little and hide a lot from the persons involved.

  5. They are unfaithful. They make no promises and so do not keep any, or they make many promises and then break most of them. They are surprised that you expect them to be faithful and disappointed when you do not take them seriously.

  6. They deal with God and man on condition that they will have the best of all things.

  7. They are always doubting God and His Word.

  8. They often demand signs, proofs or evidence.

  9. They doubt the goodness of God, even when they are surrounded by much of such evidence.

  10. They challenge the authority of God.

  11. They never ask God questions that will enable them to receive guidance from Him. ‟They know it all”. They do not know that they are ignorant.

  12. They fight with the circumstances of life.

  13. When they are faced with contradictory evidence, they throw away one set of evidence without any reason for it, and move ahead according to their passion for that moment.

  14. They are carried away by short-term projects and enjoyment without thought of the long-term consequences of these.

  15. They often forget the hurt they cause others and complain bitterly when they are hurt even in the slightest.

  16. They consider their time theirs and, therefore, invest it according to their desires.

  17. They give the impression that they are generous, whereas deep down in their hearts, they are selfish.

  18. They pretend to agree, even though in their hearts they do not agree. They practise hypocrisy and deceit.

  19. If the Lord shows them that something will happen, they immediately take things into their hands and force that which the Lord said would happen to come to pass by any means that is open to them.

  20. They shift the blame for their faults and failures to others.

  21. They desire material riches.

  22. They are discontent with the material possessions that they have, always wanting some more and more.

  23. They try to impress people with what they have materially.

  24. They treat people partially, depending on the people’s possessions or positions.

  25. They establish their own security systems instead of depending on the Lord.

  26. When faced with a problem, they worry, act, and afterwards they pray.

  27. They are always on the move. They cannot wait. They are restless. They may be stationary, but their thoughts are always on the move.

  28. They offer gifts to make up for a break-down in relationship instead of acknowledging their sin, confessing it and receiving pardon.

  29. Instead of putting things right immediately, they delay and hope that time will cause people to forget and the wounds will heal. They play the same game with the God who cannot be deceived.

  30. They concentrate on their own needs.

  31. They accept every help offered, regardless of what it costs others to help them.

  32. They lose their heads under severe provocation.

  33. The Lord does not count upon them and, therefore, He does not command them to obey Him, nor does He send them to do things for Him.
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