Drown Out the Noise

I was a youth minister for the first 25 years of my ministry calling. In dealing with you who had various home situations and various sin problems can be challenging and one particular teen had started coming to our group. As the Word of God will do, he started feeling something he had not encountered before, conviction. Conviction from the Lord is hyper, God-induced guilt. This guilt can become so prevalent in your thinking and hurting so deep in your soul that it brings you to a crisis of belief. The question becomes, "Are you willing to seek change and get your life right?" or "Are you going to continue the path you are on?"

This young man was asking a bunch of questions and I could tell he was under deep conviction. One night, we had studied what it meant to be lost and what it meant to be saved, and his dabbling in spiritual things produced a strong conviction, and he was running from it. The group had all left our house where the Bible Study was being held, and I got a call from this young man; he was apparently weeping, and he began to tell me there was a noise in his head, and he felt really guilty about his sin to the point he didn't know what to do. I began to read some scripture to him to show Him the way to get this right, and I all of a sudden heard a super loud aaaaaaaaaaagh in the phone earpiece and then silence. The phone went dead, and I couldn't get him back, but I knew he was running from the truth. He was denying Jesus any part of his life. It was his choice, his will, that was on trial, and he realized he was guilty and the guttural sound I heard on the phone was his way of stopping the conviction he was feeling. I reached out to him a few more times, but he never came back to our group again. Strange, but not so strange. There is a deep spiritual battle going on for the souls of man, and when we offer the message of Jesus, which is counter to the message of the world, there is going to be a spiritual struggle. Some give their lives to Jesus and some continue to deny Him a place in their heart and life.

The third denial by Peter to even identify with Jesus, the Savior he had followed through thick and thin, was a tough one. Matthew records this denial in more detail than John 18, but both show there was an internal battle in Peter, and he just wanted to stop the noise! Here is the scripture in Matthew 26: 73 A little later, some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.” 74 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately, the rooster crowed.75 Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly. Oh, the pain in Peter's heart and mind as He even cursed to keep from identifying with Jesus. Cursed? Come on. The point is maybe you have denied Jesus something before, like your total life, which is what we call making Jesus the Lord or controlling one.

Total surrender to allow Him to control our path and our will is a tough pill to swallow for some, and then again, some have done that completely, and Jesus awakens His call in their life, and the world is never the same again. The best way to get the noise out of your head is to surrender your heart to His call and then you will find a peace that passes all understanding. Paul wrote this to the church in Rome. Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. When you are transformed, the noise is muted by the Spirit of God, and a peace that passes all understanding becomes the only sound you hear. It is time for a peaceful heart and mind and time to give Jesus your all, and He will show you the calling He has in store for you, and it will be awesome. Quit trying to drown out all the ways that God is showing you He has great plans for you if you will just submit to His lordship. The noise you are hearing is your trying to deny Jesus everything in your life. Go His narrow path, and then He will open up a wide-open life that has purpose and direction. Jesus is looking your way, and you can probably feel His gaze on you. Don't turn away. Turn more to Him, and abundant life will await.

Today's Message,

David Warren