We are members of the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:14 says, “For in fact the body is not one member but many.” Verse 25 says, “That there be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.” Schism means division. We have an enemy of our soul that seeks ways to divide so he can conquer.

One of his clever ways is through hidden sin. Self-deception (lying to self) plays into the picture. When I was in jail ministry, we had moms incarcerated because they were busted with drugs. One said to me, “I don’t know what the problem is. I was doing drugs in my own home. I was not hurting anyone.” 

She did not take into account that her young daughters were with her AS she was doing drugs. She was miffed when they were taken away from her, but did not own her sin. It reminded me of Proverbs 30:20 which says, “This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, and says, I have done no wickedness.” 

Do you hear what Proverbs 6:32 says about the adulterer? “Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does so destroys his own soul.” We do not sin alone. Verse 25 says that we are to have the same care for one another. Will my hidden sin affect others that I am in fellowship with? Yes. Will it affect those that are in the sphere of my influence? Yes. 

1 Corinthians 15:33 Amplified says, “Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character.”

Part of how we continue to live in His grace is to walk in Galatians 6:1. It says, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” Temptations to sin are universal. The body of Christ is worldwide. The verse encourages every believer to walk in humility. We are called to walk in transparency and accountability. 

Are you struggling? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you one you can talk to. Do you see someone struggling with a sin that is keeping them captive? Ask the Holy Spirit to convict them. Then ask Him how you can come alongside and encourage them in their progressive sanctification. Let the church be a united front against the wiles of the enemy!

2 Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”

The J. B. Phillips translation says, “…always have sufficient both for yourselves and for giving away to other people.” As I read this I thought back to something the Holy Spirit showed me years ago.

Though this verse is in the context of financial giving, we can still apply it to our lives. Let’s look at some of the ways that stop God’s abundant grace in our progressive sanctification (becoming more like Jesus).

God’s grace is abundantly available to us when we are offended. However in the heat of the moment we vent to someone else. Through our gossip, we invited them into something that was not theirs to be involved in. 

We have sinned against them because we planted a destructive seed. Proverbs 26:22 Amplified says, “The words of a whisperer (gossip) are like dainty morsels (to be greedily eaten); They go down into the innermost chambers of the body (to be remembered and mused upon).” 

Gossip blocks grace, not only in our lives but also in the lives of those we infected. Proverbs 18:8 says, “The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body.” The literal is rooms of the belly.

Our hidden sin is another way that we block God’s abundant grace for our lives. Here is a definition for character that I picked up years ago. It is what we do behind doors when no one else is around. How do you spend your time alone? Does it exemplify the Lord’s character? Do you dwell in the light or in the darkness in your thoughts and actions? John 3:21 calls us to be light dwellers, “…that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

1 Thessalonians 5:22 says, “Abstain from every form of evil.” When I was small, we never went to a restaurant that was dark inside. My dad used to say that he wanted to see his food. When I was older, I understood it was because he was a preacher of the gospel, he wanted to stay away from all appearances of evil. We always went to family type places to eat. He wanted to uphold his testimony as a follower of Jesus.

Another way that we block God’s grace is through pride, arrogance, and a haughty spirit. Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.” Do we hate the things that God hates? Do we walk in humility? Do we die to our fleshly cravings in order to live upright in His sight? Everything that we do, hidden or in the open, is known by the Lord. 

I love to picture John 1:16 in my mind when I think about God’s abundant grace. The Amplified says, “For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received (all had a share and we were all supplied with) one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift (heaped) upon gift.”

We are ambassadors or representatives of Jesus. Are your activities conducive for sharing the gospel with others? Hiding our sin causes inner shame and guilt. It keeps us locked up. Confession of our sin opens the floodgates of God’s grace to empower us to be all that He has called us to be.

After an older cousin read my first book he said, “You can’t be so dogmatic.” Dogmatic means: inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true. Isn’t that how the Bible is? The truth of God’s word cannot be altered or changed in any way. We have to remember that Jesus is Truth and He does not change. John 14:6 says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…”

Romans 8:5 is an absolute truth that we do well to remember. It is an either or verse for me. It says, “For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” Galatians 5:17 broadens it, saying, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another…”

I love this picture that illustrates the word contrary. In your mind I want you to see two magnets turned opposite of each other. The magnetic field is contrary. They cannot mesh together. There is an unseen power force between them.

Here is another verse. 1 Peter 3:9 says, “Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” Peter helps us see what Jesus did when He was reviled. 1 Peter 2:23 says, “Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.”

Here is a verse that helps me. It was in a dialogue between God and Abraham. Genesis 18:25 says, “…Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Yes He will. I lean on this verse when I am praying for our nation. It is a way that I am training my heart to commit myself to the Lord when I see injustice!

Our flesh is contrary to the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Hidden lies feed our flesh. They permeate our thought processes unknowingly.  Here is great news. Lies are exposed and uprooted through the work of the Holy Spirit. He knows what lies are hidden. He knows what is driving our words and actions that are contrary to truth. We don’t.

It all begins with our thoughts. If our intention is self-serving, it is rooted in a lie. Hebrews 4:12 says that God’s word discerns our self-driven intentions. He uses His scalpel with precision while we read His word daily. Your hidden flesh rises up in protest when His word confronts it with truth.

The next time you react in your flesh, I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the hidden lie. All lies have a root system. They intertwine. We are absolutely dependent on the Holy Spirit to reveal what holds us captive, and He is the One Who will set us free.

In Colossians 1:29 Paul expressed how God was at work in him. The Amplified says, “For this I labor (unto weariness), striving with all the superhuman energy which He so mightily enkindles and works within me.”

What was that labor? Verse 28 in the Amplified says, “Him we preach and proclaim, warning and admonishing everyone and instructing everyone in all wisdom (comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God), that we may present every person mature (full-grown, fully initiated,  complete, and perfect) in Christ (the Anointed One).”

We are ambassadors of Christ. We are all called to make disciples. As Paul declared, we do not do it in our own strength. Philippians 2:13 Amplified says, “(Not in your own strength) for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you (energizing and creating in you the power and desire), both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.”

I think one of the hardest parts of progressive sanctification is learning how to live in the spirit and not yield a moment to our flesh. Our flesh profits nothing, according to John 6:63.

This truth is never more evident than when we are stuck in a lie. Nothing grows without a root, and every lie has a root source. We cannot get free from them in our own strength. We may try, but we will fail every time. It takes the supernatural intervention of the Holy Spirit each step of the way.

How does He most effectively work in our hearts? When we are submitted to His control. That means that we have to be attentive, and listen to what He is saying. Every nuance is a key to what, where, and when.

I love the Amplified in Luke 4:4. It says, “…It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God.”

Psalm 19:1-2 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night until night reveals knowledge.”

The Lord often speaks to us through the storms of our lives. He demonstrated His power to His disciples through a storm. In their own strength they could not row against the wind. They were straining and getting nowhere. 

Mark 6:51 says, “Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.”

When Jesus steps into the ‘boat’ of our impossibilities, the ‘storm’ ceases. What circumstances are you in right now that are tossing you up and down? What are you straining against? What unresolved issues have you bound? What lies control your life?

We have the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. We can ask Him for help. In John 14:16 Jesus told His disciples, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.”

Luke 15 has three different narratives, yet with the same subject in mind. The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son all end in great rejoicing. That is exactly how it is when something that was lost is found. The excitement has to be shared because it is too big to hold alone.

In the mid 70’s I got in my car and drove several hours to go to the beach. I locked my purse in my trunk and took only my key to get back into the trunk. I laid my towel down on the sand and put the key under the upper right hand corner. I fell asleep.

I heard, “Big wave is coming, clear the beach!” I grabbed my towel and raced up the stairs to my car. Then I realized that my key was still down on the sand. I asked the Holy Spirit to show me where it was. I began walking slowly, looking down the whole time. He led me right to it. There is no way that I would have been able to see it on my own. I didn’t own a cell phone back then, but when I got home I called my friends to tell them what the Lord had done for me.

I have many stories of the Holy Spirit showing me where lost things were, as well as hidden lies being revealed. Is there anything too hard for the Lord in your life? Are you struggling with something that you cannot get free from? Hidden things are the Holy Spirit’s speciality. Is there anything too hard for the Lord in your life? Are you struggling with something that you cannot get free from? Hidden things are the Holy Spirit’s speciality.

He will lead you into the Light when your heart is ready. Don’t push ahead. Don’t go groping in the dark. Only the Holy Spirit knows what fiery dart lies are buried in your heart.

Joseph rightly explained his life to his brothers. Genesis 50:20 says, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many alive.”

It is the same for us. What satan means for evil, the Lord will turn it around for our good. The Lord knows when another sins against us. What He allows, He will redeem. Nothing we go through is ever in vain.

When we share our testimony of how the Holy Spirit revealed the hidden lies that controlled our life, He will use it to set others free. They in turn will share how the Lord worked in their lives. There is a ripple effect when the hidden is revealed. 

1 Corinthians 2:7-8 revealed the hidden wisdom, “…which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew…” The Lord hid what He would do, through Jesus’ death, until the right time. We do well to remember this when we begin to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal our hidden lies. It is all in His impeccable timing

Does that sound preposterous? It is God’s word. It is good news because the Lord will not leave us with our hidden sin issues. He is cleansing His church.

Numbers 32:23 was Moses speaking to the children of Israel. It says, “But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.” 

Mark 4:22 says, “For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but it should come to light.” Psalm 69:5 says, “O God, You know my foolishness; and my sins are not hidden from You.”

Psalm 139:12 was David speaking from experience. It says, “Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.”

The lies that the enemy has hidden, in our hearts by stealth, are NO match for God. When we have the foundation of truth needed to help us stand, then the Holy Spirit will reveal the controlling lies that are buried.

You may wonder when you will be set free from things that plague you. My encouragement to you is to dig into God’s word. Lay foundational truths into your heart through memorizing and meditating.

Whatever it is, find the Scriptures that pertain to that. If worry keeps catching you off guard, what is the lie behind it? Ask the Holy Spirit. He will reveal it when you are ready. In the meantime, write down some verses that speak to the issue of worry.

If you are fearful when there is no danger, find Scriptures that will fortify your heart. Here is one of my favorites. Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not…” Here is the reason we do not need to have any fear. “…for I am with you…”

It doesn’t matter what your unresolved issue is, God’s word will more than adequately equip you to overcome it. We are called to overcome because He is our Victorious Overcomer! 

He triumphed over satan and his minions at the cross. Their only weapon against a believer is deception. Our weapon against deception is the truth of God’s word. No lie can hold us captive when we stand in truth!

Jesus is the Light of the world. He, the Light, dwells in the heart of everyone who has ever trusted in Him as their Lord and Savior. This is a glorious unchangeable and absolute truth!

Why would we ever walk in the darkness to find something that was hidden? It’s essential to have the whole area lit up with lights. Think of a flood light. When I was a child, I remember outside lights that strobed the sky to announce an event at a theatre. 

Kevin Prosch wrote a song called “Come To The Light.” John 3:21 says, “But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

We intentionally walk in the light when we have nothing to hide. We are free to be transparent before the Lord. We rejoice in His Light. Cockroaches run from the light. Verse 20 says that folks hate the light because it exposes their deeds.

We have to train ourselves to listen to the Holy Spirit. When He highlights a verse, or a phrase in a verse, we need to stop and pay attention. John 14:17 says that He is the Spirit of truth. 

Those who walk in self-deception have hidden sin. Hebrews 3:14 says that it hardens our heart. A callous is hard and impermeable. It has to be softened before it can be removed.

What will soften a hard heart? God refers to His word as water. I love to picture hidden sin this way. Fill a glass jar with mud caked (hidden sin) rocks. Now run water over those rocks and watch what happens. The caked mud begins to dissolve and eventually the muddy water becomes clear.

Every believer is part of the body of Christ. Ephesians 5:25-26 told husbands to love their wives as Christ loves His church, “…that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.”

When we are not in God’s word daily, we will not be washed. When Jesus began to wash His disciples feet, He made an interesting statement. In John 13:8 Peter resisted what the Lord was doing. He said, “…You shall never wash my feet!…”

Read Jesus’ words carefully. He said, “…If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” It was in washing His disciples feet that the betrayer was exposed.

What we soak in God’s word, the betrayer-lies will surface. Rest assured the Lord knows everything that you have been through. He knows what you are going through right now, and what you will yet go through.

Our faith cannot afford to let the hidden lies remain. They are like landmines. They were secretly planted by satan through fiery darts that we did not quench with our door shield of faith.

They can only be disclosed through the washing of the water by the word. Father, thank You for the power of Your word that penetrates and illuminates the hidden places in our heart. Help us to discern when and what You are speaking. Protect us from the evil one’s intentions and myriad wiles. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Think back to the story of Samson. The instructions the Lord gave his parents were for his life. Judges  13:5 says, “…no razor  shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

Samson had great strength, but he did not follow God in every way. Judges 16:1 says that he went into a harlot. In verse 5 the lords of the Philistines gave the harlot direct instructions.

They said, “…Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him…” You can read the story for yourself.

After Delilah pestered him mercilessly, he gave in and told her the secret to his strength. Verse 17 says, “…No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite from my mother’s womb…”

What lies are you still bound with? What lies are the foundation of a stronghold that keeps you spiritually weak? We usually don’t know because we have been deceived. That is, after all, what a lie is ~ deception.

All lies counterfeit the truth. Truth is absolute. There are no exceptions. I was stopped on the street by a young politician yesterday. He wanted my vote. I have been asking the Lord to raise up young righteous men and women to enter the political scene.

I asked, “Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?” His reply revealed a lie that he was encased in. His answer was, “I am a (named a religion) and I believe in the Trinity.”

I promptly quoted from John 14:1 saying, “You believe in God, but the ‘Me’ is Jesus.” He put his hand up and said that it was nice meeting me and walked off.

There were two falls recorded in the Bible that I want to look at. We know that satan fell from heaven. Why? He exalted himself through a lie that he made up.

Remember what John 8:44 said about satan. “…does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

What did the serpent use to entice Eve? He contradicted God’s word. In Genesis 3:1 he cast doubt. Verse 4 says, “Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die.” 

Adam and Eve fell because of the unbelief the serpent planted! That is exactly what he does when he shoots out a fiery dart. It is targeted to plant a seed which is a lie. It’s designed to penetrate and remain hidden as it permeates our thought processes.

The more lies we believe, the more strength they gather to build strongholds that will afflict us and weaken our faith. That is another reason that the Lord brings trials. According to 1 Peter 1:7 He uses our trials to prove our faith genuine. The fiery trials reveal the hidden so it can be removed. Mark 4:22 says, “…nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.”

I encourage you to not look for your strongholds. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal them to you as you read God’s word daily. Also it says in Hosea 10:13 that we have eaten the fruit of lies because we trusted in our own way. The moment you start to do something in your own strength, recognize it is because a lie was planted. Ask Him to reveal it. He is very faithful to show us what keeps us bound.

The Bible is full of truth. Until we believe that truth and make it part of our lives, it remains as print on a page. Did you know that part of the training for a new bank teller is to give them real money so they would instantly discern the counterfeit?

Unbelief is a counterfeit to truth. Unbelief is satan’s effective tool to keep folks from accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God should shine on them.”

Here is something else that satan does. Ephesians 2:2 says that before salvation we walked, “…according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.”

Unbelief is disobedience to the gospel’s call. Romans 1:5-6 says, “Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.”

What does the gospel call us to? Ephesians 4:1 says to walk worthy of the calling. 2 Timothy 1:9 says, “”Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”

Accepting the gospel is not a once in a lifetime act. We are called to live out the gospel every moment in our lives. How do we do that? Romans 8:5 says, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

Romans 6 is a blueprint we can build our spiritual life on. At salvation we died to sin. Verse 4 says, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

James 1:6-8 is part of the gospel’s blueprint. It says that we are not to doubt. Doubt, fear, and unbelief cause us to see our impossibilities through our own eyes pre-salvation. 

What did you believe about yourself before you were saved? For me, I was very independent and fought my own wars with the lies that I had believed. Those lies were my foundational beliefs.

It was not until 1993 that I learned that not all my thoughts were of my own origin. I spent years undoing satan’s strongholds. 2 Corinthians 4:2 was my template. It says, “But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully…”

Renounce means to disown. As the Holy Spirit would bring a hidden lie to the surface, I would acknowledge it and renounce it. Then I would affirm the truth of God’s word that tore down the counterfeit stronghold.

We know that the wicked one throws out fiery darts. Ephesians 6:16 says that our door shield of faith will quench them. However, unbelief will allow them to penetrate. Then satan uses the hidden lies to build an internal stronghold. Then he is able to war against us through our own thought processes. 

That is why we have to keep truth in our heart. Our heart is designed to be a reservoir full of God’s word that we have memorized and meditated on. It is our true warring stronghold. When the enemy lobs a fiery dart lie, the truth within stands up like a sentinel. The Holy Spirit uses what we have hidden to keep us free!

Experiential truth is truth that has become ours. It is part of our thought process that directs us into paths of righteousness. John 8:31 says that inner heart truth is the fruit of a disciple. Verse 32 says that it becomes truth that sets us free and keeps us free.

Moses sent out 12 spies to go into the promised land and bring back a report. 10 spies gave a bad report based on their interpretation of what they saw. Interpretation is our working word in this post.

How are you interpreting the impossibility in your life? When we look through our own perception, our interpretation will be based on what we believe. What did the 10 spies believe? Their words revealed their hearts. They believed that the giants in the land saw them. A true spy is undetected. Numbers 13 basically says that they saw the giants and the giants saw them. Then they put their perceived words into the mouths of the giants. 

First they spoke of the land that God had promised them. Numbers 13:32, “…a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.” Verse 33 was their interpretation of what they saw. It says, “There we saw the giants…and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” Did the giants see them? No.

Here is the first point that we need to look at. They totally forgot God’s promises because they looked to themselves. Compared to those men of great stature they felt like small grasshoppers. 

When I was in grade school we were taught how to make shadows on the wall. They were far bigger than we were. Our impossibilities are like shadows. They loom over us. Our key in the face of any impossibility is to remember that nothing is impossible for God. We lean on Scripture. We bring it into our mind and keep it there. 

Joshua and Caleb were part of the spy party. Their interpretation was based on the truth of God’s promise to all of the children of Israel. Verse 29 was Caleb’s statement after the 10 spies gave a bad report that disquieted the people. It says, “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” However the people believed the bad report because its words encased them in fear.

Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” What was the fruit of the 10 spies words? Numbers 14:36-37 says, “Now the men…who returned and made all the congregation complain…these very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord.”

A few days ago I mentioned 1 Kings 8:38 and the plague of our heart. Our death words bring a plague to our health. Fear, worry, anxiety, anger, bitterness, and a critical spirit are the evidence of unbelief hidden in our heart.

John 14:1 says, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” Our belief is to be founded in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. In and of ourselves we are nothing. I keep referring to John 15:5 but it is a foundational truth that grounds us when we face off our impossibilities.

It says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Nothing means not one thing. We cannot even breathe on our own. Daniel reminded king Belshazzar. Daniel 5:23 says, “…the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.”

How do we glorify the Lord? Facing off our impossibilities, with each and every word and expression of thanksgiving, praise, gratefulness, and rejoicing brings glory to the Lord. As we abide in Him through intimate communion, the byproduct is much fruit that glorifies Him.