8/18/21-SWEATING IT

The first place we ever read the word sweat is found in the Book of Genesis after Adam failed to defend God’s integrity before his wife in the Garden of Eden. As a part of their punishment for ignoring God’s command Adam was told that by the sweat of his brow, he would make a living. Genesis 3:19

Sweat or sweating requires exertion or laboring-Something Adam never knew. Everything was provided for them. Their job didn’t require them to sweat. They were caretakers of God’s creation. Everything was subject to them. But we all know the story because we’re still eating by the sweat of our brows albeit in air conditioned offices😁

Anyway this message isn’t about Adam. It’s more about resistance to sin and who actually did the sweating. I believe that if we actually had to sweat to sin, we wouldn’t be so comfortable doing it. If we had to labor and feel the weight and pressure of it, maybe we wouldn’t enjoy it so much. Even those who are eventually having to suffer the consequences of it, haven’t sweated in the biblical sense of resisting. We may be fearful of being discovered, but given the opportunity we’d probably go back to doing the same thing if we thought we could get away with whatever it is. Not all but some. Repeat offenders create overcrowded prisons. Sin is a jail cell without physical bars. And only One Man has felt the weight and pressure of the magnitude of it. And He was innocent. I’ll get to that later.

As for the perpetrators, (us) we have not even come close to sweating for the evil we have done.

According to Hebrews 12 We have not even tried to resist sin to the point of sweating. Let’s read together.

“As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has already been marked out before us. We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because His heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be His, He endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God! So consider carefully how Jesus faced such intense opposition from sinners who opposed their own souls, so that you won’t become worn down and cave in under life’s pressures. After all, you have not yet reached the point of sweating blood in your opposition to sin.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:1-4‬ ‭TPT‬‬

None of us have reached that point of resistance. If we’d be honest with ourselves we’d admit that yielding to the flesh is comfortable; it's easier than resisting the urges to do right. Don’t say “not me,” because you just yielded to the misconception that we “got this.” The greatest apostle who ever lived had this to say about the struggle-I didn’t want to write out all the verses but I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t.

“I once lived without a clear understanding of the law, but when I heard God’s commandments, sin sprang to life and brought with it a death sentence. The commandment that was intended to bring life brought me death instead. Sin, by means of the commandment, built a base of operation within me, to overpower me and put me to death. So then, we have to conclude that the problem is not with the law itself, for the law is holy and its commandments are correct and for our good. So, did something meant to be good become death to me? Certainly not! It was not the law but sin unmasked that produced my spiritual death. The sacred commandment merely uncovered the evil of sin so it could be seen for what it is. For we know that the law is divinely inspired and comes from the spiritual realm, but I am a human being made of flesh and trafficked as a slave under sin’s authority. I’m a mystery to myself, for I want to do what is right, but end up doing what my moral instincts condemn. And if my behavior is not in line with my desire, my conscience still confirms the excellence of the law. And now I realize that it is no longer my true self doing it, but the unwelcome intruder of sin in my humanity. For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but willpower is not enough to accomplish it. My lofty desires to do what is good are dashed when I do the things I want to avoid. So if my behavior contradicts my desires to do good, I must conclude that it’s not my true identity doing it, but the unwelcome intruder of sin hindering me from being who I really am. Through my experience of this principle, I discover that even when I want to do good, evil is ready to sabotage me.” Romans‬ ‭7:9-21‬ ‭TPT‬‬

In our humanity it’s a daily ritual of submission to the Holy Spirit in order to build a wall of resistance against our flesh. But none of us have felt the full force of resisting sin to the point of really sweating the consequences enough to quit sinning once and for all. We work at it daily. The reason most will think we are resisting is because we have categorized sin. Paul said the desire to sin is always present. You may not be stealing, lying, sleeping around or cussing. But did you just lose your cool? Did you just have a bad or wrong thought? Did you overeat?🎤 gluttony is another word for stuffing ourselves to the point of being uncomfortable and that’s a sin. Just saying..

We work at doing right with the help of the Holy Spirit, but we’re far from being sinless. Let’s look at what our sin and its consequences did to our Savior. True resistance causes indescribable agony. It’s one thing to sweat for our own sin. It’s quite another to sweat for someone else’s. We’ll never fully comprehend what God has done for us in Christ. All we can do is have a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving towards Him. He is truly worthy of our praise. Hallelujah!

“Then He withdrew from them a short distance to be alone. Kneeling down, He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup of agony away from Me. But no matter what, Your will must be Mine.” Jesus called for an angel of glory to strengthen Him, and the angel appeared. He prayed even more passionately, like one being sacrificed, until He was in such intense agony of spirit that His sweat became drops of blood, dripping onto the ground.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭22:41-44‬ ‭TPT‬‬

That’s what resistance to sin produces. He was already feeling the pressure of our rebellion before He was even crucified. So Paul was correct.(I believe he is the author of Hebrews) We have not yet resisted sin to that point of sweating blood. But the Lamb of God did. So the next time you wipe your brow you won’t see blood but you’ll see something that looks like what we’re made of, dirt. A reminder that we’re powerless without Him. The next time you feel like yielding to the sinful urges of the flesh, wipe your brow and remember how much He agonized over our sin. To the point of sweating 🩸 drops of blood. But also remember how deeply loved you are.

Written by permission of the Holy Spirit

W. Tennant

August 18, 2021