In Proverbs 1:23 the Lord declares, “Turn to my reproof behold I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you” (NKJV). Turning to the reproof of God is changing your mind, repenting, going in a different direction. God desires to pour out His spirit to all, to reveal Himself to all through His Word, to walk in covenant relationship with all. There is a direct relationship between turning to the reproof of God and receiving from God, for God gives grace to the humble. Though many Christians have a desire to turn from their sin and follow God wholeheartedly, there seems to be a misunderstanding of where this change begins.
Paul sheds light on our start in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God; bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” To repent is to pull down, cast down, or deconstruct all that isn’t of God in our lives. Before we could ever rebuild a holy life unto God, we must first completely eradicate our ways of old that occupy the high places in our life; our idols. Our idols are what we rely on and are consumed by. When we are in pain, we go to our idol. When we are in need, we go to our idol. When we want to celebrate, we go to our idol, and so on. Every high thing that is not consecrated to God must be deconstructed.
There are only two kings mentioned in the Old Testament who dealt with the high places: Hezekiah and Josiah. Like Josiah who destroyed the altars on the high places that brought revival to the land of Judah in 2 Kings 23, you must do some idol smashing too. Then you must worship God only, as Hezekiah did. King Hezekiah restored Judah’s temple, reappointed the priesthood and re-established the Passover (see 2 Chronicles 29,30). The Bible says that King Hezekiah “removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan” (2 Kings 18:1-4). Nehushtan symbolizes the worship of what is old, what once brought revival, the old ways of thinking. Hezekiah strategically removed this from the high places to deconstruct, or pull down, Israel’s religious stronghold that was keeping them from progressing in God. Later in the chapter it is said that Hezekiah “trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him...he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments...The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went”(v. 5-7). Hezekiah and Josiah are examples that when we deconstruct for the purpose of reconstructing unto God, we access grace.
Grace is the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life. It is the driving force of repentance and renewal, and enables us to destroy what is wrong and build what is right. As mentioned before, this begins in the mind. We, as believers, are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and our minds are the high places that need to be renewed. The Bible says not to be “conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2 NASB). To not be conformed to the world is to yield to the reproof of God. Then, by the Spirit and the Word of God, the mind is transformed and renewed for the purpose of living a life that demonstrates what is good, acceptable, and the perfect will of God. Grace is what allows us to give evidence of the goodness of God. With a reconstructed mind, we are able to walk in love, which is building upon what Jesus started; the resurrection order. The decision to consecrate our whole lives unto God is the beginning of fulfilling who we were always created to be. We have a responsibility to produce the Kingdom with the grace that we receive.
Too many well-meaning Christians today are sitting under good teaching, tithing, and lending a hand to the institution, but are not walking in the fullness of their potential in God. The seeds of grace that we receive in our walk with God have Kingdom implications. We are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14) by the grace of God. His divine influence enables us to hold fast to Him and impact the world in a mighty way. What a wonderful privilege it is to turn to God and be transformed according to His image and nature! We are sons and daughters of the Most High, and the world anxiously awaits for us to walk in this revelation. We have the Mediator living inside of us, so that we can aid in bridging the gap between God and man. We have the capability to impact the world as conduits of the Kingdom so long as we make the decision, everyday, to tear down all that isn’t of God in our lives and replace it anew according to the Spirit and Word of God. Grace will always respond to a yielded life.
As mentioned in the beginning, God promises that he will make His words known to us. This is a powerful tool in the deconstruction and reconstruction process. Getting the Word in your mouth will automatically arrest any thought, imagination, or way of thinking that opposes the knowledge of God. Get alone with God and His word and let it wash you clean! Grace will follow your progress of transformation. Set your mind on things above and not beneath, for God desires to use you in mighty way. I pray you yield to the reproof of God daily so that you may fulfill all that God has created you to be.