Led by the Hook or by the Book

Two eight-year-old boys meet, become best friends, and grow up together. When they are nineteen years old, one gets saved and then leads the other to the Lord. Both teenagers become passionate about pursuing God and both get baptized in the Holy Ghost. Within a few months, one of them starts showing signs of fear of the things of God. About a year later, his passion for the Lord is gone and to this day, his heart is gripped with fear more than ever before. The other young man went on with the Lord, grew and matured, and conquered every obstacle in his path.

This is a familiar theme with many people—some give up and some conquer. What is it about one person that drives him to conquer and what is it about another person that leads him to give up? What compels a godly young lady who goes off to college to loose her virginity and use drugs? What is the force that leads a highly talented young man to give up his faith so that he can become rich and famous?

The answer is the “hook”.

Understanding how the hook works will help us to purify our hearts—the pure heart will see (and hear) God.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus had the purest heart that ever walked this Earth. John 5:19–20a says, “Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.”

Notice the word, “whatever” in the above verse. Anything and everything that the Father did, Jesus saw it and He did it. Jesus’ pure heart enabled Him to see and do all that the Father showed Him to do.

Jesus had no “hooks”. He told His disciples, “I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me,” (John 14:30). Satan had no hold—or hooks—on Jesus, not even in the smallest of matters.

A man called by God to enter the ministry succumbs to the seduction of an attractive young woman and forsakes his calling. A Christian woman who works in a large office enters the gossip chain even though she knows that God hates the spreading of private rumors or facts. A godly teenager begins to season his conversation with cuss words because everyone he hangs with uses those words.

The NIV of James 1:14 reads, “but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”

When we sin, it’s because we were dragged by our own evil desire. Generally, here’s the four-step process: We are attracted to a temptation, we commit the sin, we are convicted, and then we repent. The force that creates the first two steps is something in our heart that drags us to do evil.

Identifying that “something”—the hook—and ridding ourselves of it is a key to achieving a pure heart.

We often hear something like, “Oh, the enemy is really coming against so-and-so.” What’s actually happening a lot of the time is that “so-and-so” has not removed his or her hooks.

“So, what’s the ‘hook’?”

Amos gave a prophesy to warn unrepentant Israel that they will be conquered and exiled by the Assyrians:

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria,

you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy

and say to your husbands, "Bring us some drinks!"

The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his holiness:

"The time will surely come

when you will be taken away with hooks,

the last of you with fishhooks. (Amos 4:1–2)

The Assyrians led away the Israeli captives into exile in a very humiliating manner. The captives were stripped naked, their hands were bound, and they were all attached together with a system of ropes and fishhooks that were pierced through their lower lip, nose, or cheek. This was extremely painful for the captive and very efficient for controlling the prisoner. Needless to say, each captive walked in the direction that the hook was pulled.

When we have a hook within us, the enemy can drag us wherever he wants us to go. That hook can be fear, insecurity, pride, lust, gossip and so on.

When we feel a drawing—an attraction, a desire—for something ungodly, even if we have not yet committed a sin, that drawing is a signal that we need to pay attention to. That signal reveals a hook in our heart that keeps us from being pure.

There was a news item recently about a pro-life, born-again, spirit-filled pastor who also worked as a general contractor. This man accepted a job to build an abortion clinic. This man definitely has a hook.

God desires that there be only truth in our innermost being. He wants us to have clean hearts. He wants us to have pure hearts. Why? Because He wants us to see Him. He wants to show us what He is doing and He wants us to do those things. And the only way that we can always see and do what the Father is doing is when we have no hooks within us and our hearts are pure.

It is my prayer for you that Father will continue to help you to hear His voice, and more and more frequently.

With God’s grace and in His peace,

Gary

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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

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