Wilderness To Wisdom: Unplugging From The Programming

In this episode, we examine what happens when we try to add Christ to a life we're not willing to surrender — and why that compromise keeps us spiritually powerless. We explore the danger of mixing faith with worldly practices, other spiritualities, and the beliefs we've never thought to question.

You'll be encouraged to let the Holy Spirit reveal what needs to come off — not through willpower or religious pressure, but through a heart that is genuinely seeking God.

This message is an invitation to stop dividing your spiritual energy and start walking in the fullness of who you already are in Christ.

Transcript

Welcome back to Wilderness to Wisdom. In the last episode, I mentioned doing a proverbial factory reset to get back to God's original design. As followers of Christ, We are instructed to take off the old nature, The nature of the world, And to put on the nature of Christ, Not to try and layer the nature of Christ on top of the worldly things we won't let go of, Then twist it to say God is okay with it because He knows our hearts. With our faith and still experience the fullness of who we are in Christ. But what if that compromise is exactly what's keeping us spiritually powerless? What if being double-minded is preventing us from walking in the authority and the power Jesus said would be ours? Today we're going to look at why this matters and what it actually looks like to start unplugging from the world's programming and walking in what God intended for us. Many of us have been taught that spiritual growth is about adding more, More knowledge, More practices, More religious activities. But true spiritual transformation is about removing what doesn't belong, The things hindering us from walking in the fullness of who we already are in Christ. Colossians 3 9 and 10 tells us, Have put on the new self, Which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Notice the sequence, Put off the old, Then put on the new. Many of us are trying to put on the new without first putting off the old. We want to add Christ to our existing worldly lifestyle, Rather than removing what's incompatible with his nature. Some of us are unaware of what needs to come off. Others address the bigger, Obvious things, But still move with the world, Never questioning the smaller things, Because everyone else is fine with them, Even the church. This creates spiritual a house divided within ourselves. Jesus said in Matthew 12 25 of us is holding on to the world and refusing to let it go, We become that house divided, And a house divided cannot stand. Every denomination speaks things that are true, But each also has its own doctrine, The very thing that sets it apart and makes it a denomination in the first place. The same is true of non-denominational settings, Which still carry their own teachings and traditions, Even without the label. All of them took God's truth and added their own interpretations, Traditions, And requirements. This is the same pattern we see when we try to add Christ to worldly practices. We take something true about God and mix it with something rooted in darkness. Think about it this way. If you have a glass of pure water and add just one drop of poison, The entire glass of water becomes poisoned. And even if you add more water, The poison doesn't disappear, The whole glass of water is still poisoned. In the same way, We don't make worldly practices safe by adding Jesus to them. We compromise our faith by mixing it with what God has called us to separate from. There may have been a time when ignorance was bliss, But this is a season of separation. Things are being exposed and what once stayed hidden is now playing out in the open. We are seeing demonic oppression and possession play out right in front of us more blatantly than ever. Let's consider what Jesus said in John 14 12, That we would do the works he did and even greater works. If we're not seeing this in our lives or all around us, Is it time to examine ourselves and take a closer look at the leaders and influences we're following? We are to walk in power and authority, Not be victims of this world. Will bad things happen? Yes, We live in a fallen world and hardship is part of our experience here. But hardship doesn't cancel the word. It's actually where the word gets tested. When bad things happen, The enemy will try to use them to wear us down and convince us that God isn't with us, That he's not hearing our prayers, That the promises don't really replied to us, That's when we have to stand firmly on what God has said, Not on what circumstances are telling us. And sometimes the trial isn't something to fight off, It's something to endure. In 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 7 through 9, Paul spoke of a thorn in his side, A messenger from Satan that tormented him. He asked God three times to remove it, And God's answer was, Sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness. Paul understood that the thorn was keeping him from becoming arrogant. So even in suffering that doesn't go away, There's purpose. Trials can be used to drive us deeper into relationship with God, To strip away the things we thought we needed, And to teach us to lean on him in ways we never would have if life had been easy. So no, Walking in power and authority doesn't mean a life free of trouble. It means knowing who's we are when the trouble comes and not letting the enemy convince us otherwise. And one of the biggest ways the enemy keeps us from walking in that power is by keeping what I'll call our spiritual energy divided. I've used references from the Matrix before to illustrate spiritual realities. And here's one more that fits what we're talking about. Morpheus tells Neo, In order to change a human being into this, And then he holds up a battery. The scene is striking. That's the world Morpheus is describing, A fictional one, But the spiritual reality is that what's actually being harvested isn't electricity, It's our spiritual energy. The devil wants to keep our spiritual energy divided so that we never walk anywhere near the fullness of what we should be as followers of Christ. If the devil can keep us engaged with demonic things, We unknowingly participate in rituals or activities that serve darkness. Some of us, Even one sitting in church, May be practicing witchcraft without realizing it, Because everything has a spiritual source and not every source is God. This includes things many of us would never question. I'll address some of those things in future episodes, We must be willing to examine even the most familiar things, Including what happens inside the church. People are all over the place. One moment they're in church talking about God, And the next they're checking their horoscope. Some call themselves followers of Christ while practicing yoga, For example, Telling themselves it's fine because they focus on Jesus while they do it, Or that it's nothing more than stretching. But yoga's roots are intertwined with Hinduism. Many of the postures are tied to Hindu deities and were developed as acts of worship. Telling ourselves it's just stretching doesn't change what it actually is. This same pattern shows up when we blend other religious paths into our walk with Christ. Some of us bring in African spirituality, Islam, And other religions, Believing we're being inclusive or culturally sensitive. Others aren't aware at all. They may study scripture regularly but if they're reading it through the lens of indoctrination they see what they've been told to see rather than what the word actually says and they follow the traditions of men. When we read scripture that way, We close ourselves off to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit wants to course correct and align us with the truth, But we can't receive that course correction if we've already, Knowingly or unknowingly, Decided what the truth is. In John 14 6, Jesus didn't say he's one of many paths. He said he is the way and the truth and the life. He didn't teach us to blend God's truth with other religions. He taught us to leave everything else to follow him. Adding other spiritual practices to our walk with Christ doesn't create a richer spirituality. It creates spiritual confusion that opens doors to demonic influence. Everything has a spiritual source and not all sources are from God. And these things aren't hidden. If we've heard about yoga, Astrology, Fraternities, Sororities, Freemasonry, And the like, And still believe God is fine with it, When none of it aligns with following Christ, We won't be able to say we didn't know. The information is out there. Whether it's big or small, Everything means something. We need to be intentional and aware. Regarding things being exposed, This isn't just happening out in the world. It's happening in the church. It's happening in our individual lives. God wants us to walk in the power and authority he's given us, And that requires us to be willing to see what's been exposed and choose to separate ourselves from anything that's not of him, Even if it feels comfortable, Even if it's popular, And even if it's what we've always done. The Holy Spirit will help us see what's leading us away from God, But we have to make the choice to break free from it. So how do we actually do this proverbial factory reset? How do we remove what doesn't belong without falling into legalism or religious performance? First, We have to be willing to examine everything. Not just the obvious things, But the subtle things as well. The practices we've adopted without questioning, The beliefs we've inherited without testing them against scripture. Second, We have to understand that this is a process. We won't reach perfection in this body, But that should not discourage us from walking toward it. Every time we let go of something from the world, We make room for more of the nature of Christ to take its place. But letting go alone isn't enough. What we replace it with has to actually be of God. Many times we're not willing to challenge what we've been conditioned to believe. We want the comfort of our familiar practices more than we want the truth of God's word. We get caught up in the news cycle, Reality TV, Social media scrolling, Gossip about other people's business, Music and movies that normalize darkness, Anything that fills the space where time with God should be. And it's not just secular content. A lot of what's labeled Christian doesn't actually align with God's word either. On the other hand, Some of us settle for the minimum, A daily devotional, A worship song, Or two, Checking the box on our religious duty for the day, Then going right back to mixing with the world. And this may sound harsh, But it really is a choice. A few months ago, I shared some information with someone, And he came back a few days later and told me he hadn't looked at it. He said a part of him already knew that looking would challenge and ultimately unravel everything he believes, And he just wasn't willing to do it. That's the choice many of us are making, Even if we never put it into words. We sense that what God is showing us will cost us something, So we look away. This isn't about saying we can never watch the news, Enjoy entertainment, Or engage in any way with what's happening in the world. We are in this world and we have to navigate it. Part of the issue is overconsumption and an unwillingness to let things go. When the things of the world take up so much of our time and attention that there's no room left for God. But the more time we spend with God, The more we want of Him and less of what the world is telling us we should want. But we can't let the noise of the world drown out His voice. Here's something we have to understand about this process. It doesn't happen by willpower alone. Some teachings out there may tell us to stop everything right now, Drop this, Cut that, And do it today or we're not really followers of Christ. That voice sounds urgent, And it sounds biblical, But the Holy Spirit corrects us so that we can be free, Not to condemn us into fear and shame if we can't stop everything all at once. Romans 8-1 tells us there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That doesn't mean we can use grace as a license to keep doing what we've been doing. In the same chapter, Romans 8 goes on to say we are called to walk according to the Spirit, Not according to the flesh. The freedom is freedom from condemnation, Not freedom to ignore the Holy Spirit's leading. That's also why willpower alone isn't the answer. When we try to do this using only willpower, Or when we try to clean ourselves up all at once because we have an all-or-nothing mindset or someone pressured us into it, What we produce isn't freedom. It may become religious performance, Going through the motions to convince ourselves and others that we've changed. We may end up exhausting ourselves trying to be perfect and eventually burnout, Or quietly drift back into the things we forced ourselves to drop. Initially, We may use willpower, And that's okay. The goal, However, Is to break free from the stronghold, Putting off the old and putting on more of the nature of Christ so that His nature becomes our default setting. And when we drift back, We don't always end up where we started. Jesus warned about this in Matthew 12, 43-45. He described what happens when an unclean spirit leaves a person. It wanders through dry places and then returns to find the house empty, Swept, And put in order. So it goes and brings seven other spirits more wicked than itself, And the final state of that person is worse than the first. Removing something without replacing it with what's of God leaves an open door for the enemy. For those of us who have the Holy Spirit, It opens us up to oppression, Evil spirits setting up shop in the corner of our minds, Harassing, Influencing, Planting thoughts that aren't ours. For those who don't have the Holy Spirit, It can mean possession, Spirits taking up residence in a house with no one to defend it. This is why letting go alone isn't enough. The space has to be filled with what's actually of God. God already knows everything that's been piled on us in this fallen world. He's not surprised by it, And he's not waiting for us to figure it all out on our own. As we walk out our journey, The Holy Spirit reveals what needs to come off. It might be something obvious, Or something we've been doing for years that we never thought to question, Or something small, A song lyric we suddenly hear differently, A conversation or a message in a sermon, That doesn't sit right. A check in our spirit we can't shake that brings forth what needs to come off next. Some things may be revealed gradually over the years, Others more directly depending on where each of us is in our walk. Each of us gets our own walk with God. Our part isn't to manufacture the revelation. Our part is to stay close enough to hear it and be willing to respond when it comes. The closer we walk with God, The easier it becomes to let go of what he shows us because we're no longer trying to do it by force. We're being led by a heart that is truly seeking God's kingdom and righteousness. So that's the difference between spirit-led course correction and willpower-driven legalism. One is rooted in the Holy Spirit, The other is rooted in self-effort dressed up as holiness. The condition of our hearts isn't always visible, Even to us, But it's never hidden from God. This looks different for everyone, But it comes down to a few things. Asking the Holy Spirit to reveal what needs to go. Being willing to let go of practices rooted in anything outside of Christ. Actually of God as He leads us, Staying close enough to keep hearing the Holy Spirit as we walk, And trusting God's leading and His pace, Not our own willpower or timeline. If you've been listening to this and you can already feel the Holy Spirit nudging you about something, Don't sit on it. That nudge is the invitation. You don't have to have it all figured out and you don't have to do it all at once. The walk doesn't require us to have it all together. It requires us to be willing. Trust that God knows exactly what he's doing. He'll reveal what needs to come off when he knows we're ready and he'll show us what to fill that face with. Our part is to stay close and respond. We are not called to blend in with the world's systems. We are not called to mix spiritualities. We are called to be set apart for God. Thank you for joining me for this episode of Wilderness to Wisdom.