Have you ever felt like you are not an adult, like you are just pretending to be your idea of what an adult is? Do you wonder if the others are going to see through your facade and know that you are just playing at being an adult? My standard of what a man should be has always been my Father. He has been dead for about 4 years now. I know he would tell me he is proud of me, and that I’ve become the man he hoped I would be. He never showed us any doubt. He was always so outwardly confident, or perhaps that is the way it seemed to a child’s perception. I know he did have doubts and fears. I know he confided in his Wife. I have done the same thing. I wonder though, if the strength he portrayed to us wasn’t there, what kind of man would I be? Because of my Father, I can safely say, I am a more godly man than I would have been without Him. Because of His example, I took several, I mean several leaps of faith to do what I thought would have been the right thing, the thing Dad would have done, or been proud of. Ladies, this can apply to you and your godly mothers as well. I know my Dad wasn’t perfect, and he made mistakes that he privately regretted, but he was as good a Father to me and my Brother as he could have been. Now that Dad is gone, I don’t feel alone, or on shaky ground. Why? Because I’ve got another Father. A perfect Father who is not flawed. I have a Father who gave me and my Brother, and our Mother, the perfect man to accomplish His will in our lives. Dad might not have been the adult that we saw with our little eyes, and thought of with our childish minds, but he was the man that God used to bring us to Him. Dad was strong and compassionate, he was hard and thoughtful, he was self-sacrificing and forgiving. It was so much easier for me to see the character of Christ in a man most people would have called marginally Christian, than in many who put on a good show of being an adult. God the Father, in His perfect knowledge and sovereignty, “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Because of who God the Father is, I had the human Father He wanted for me. He used my Dad to lead one of His elect to Him. I was so lost as a young man. I loved myself more than anything or anyone else. I loved my own pleasures, and hated those who would deny me. Now because of the memories of my Father, and the testimony of the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit, I am a partaker in God’s grace. I have been adopted by the true Father of all who are born again. I and my Dad, are brother’s in Christ. I hope to see him again in eternity, and worship the Lord Jesus, with him as well. I hope and pray that my Brother, and his family, my oldest Step-Son, my present, and future Grandchildren, and all of you will be with us to, as brothers and sister, unified in love, and the love of Christ Jesus. We all have doubts and fears in life. We are uncertain at times, but look to God, fix your eyes on Jesus, and what He did for you in His life, crucifixion, and resurrection. There is one God, and only one way of salvation, it is Jesus Christ. Repent of your sins, and believe. He will grant you new life and make you a new person, just like He did for me. I’m not always assured and confident in my position, but I am so confident and sure of God, and because He is good, I know that whatever I go through in life is for my sanctification. It is to shape me into the the adult man, that He wants me to be. I hope that when I am dead, the people whom God has given me to be with will be able to say the same about me that I have said about my Father.
None of us are sinlessly perfect. Everyone of us is aware of a specific sin in our lives. Some of us wonder if we are even saved because of that specific sin that is in our lives. Some of us are at war with the sin, while others are complacently allowing for it. Which group are you in?
We are endangered when we count on our own efforts to fight the sin, and then failing time and time again, only to have doubt come in and rob us of our assurance, or we justify our sin away as if it is only a trifle, no big deal, everyone does it, and we allow for it instead of fighting against it. We count on grace to keep us safe. Both ways of thinking are wrong. We should be at war with our sins, knowing that Christ has won the war against sin once and for all. It is our lot to stand in front of the enemy before us and engage in the fight with all we have, resting in the knowledge that the outcome of the war has already been secured even if we fail in our battle time and time again, but with practice and provision from the Holy Spirit, and God’s word, we should be strengthened. God will sanctify us, and mature us out of that fight into another fight. We will keep fighting sin until we die, and are resurrected into a glorified body, that will only do that which is pleasing to God.
If you find yourself in the other group, using grace as a license for sin, sitting back in defeat, without a hope of ever growing, don’t give in. Now is the time to stand up and fight. Don’t prove you were never saved at all. Don’t harden your heart to the calling of the Holy Spirit to get in the fight. Don’t have a false assurance of your conversion. “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you [a]fail the test?” 2 Cor 13:5 You might experience a pleasant surprise. If you get back in the fight, repent and ask Christ to forgive you, He will. You can have assurance of your salvation. You can know you are saved. You can know through the fight, successes and failures, that drive you back to the cross again and again for grace. Don’t focus on you and your fight. Focus on Christ and His fight. Focus on His victory over sin, death and the grave. Focus on His victory imputed to you by faith and enjoy the peace between you and God in the midst of the violent war against sin in your life.
Right off the bat, we have presuppositional problems. Here is a quote from the introduction,
“Are you ready for your prayer life to improve? Would you like to learn how to pray more accurately and receive God’s answers more quickly? If so, you’re reading the right book!”
There is no way our prayers can be any more or less effective, if we are in Christ, the Holy Spirit is interceding for us. The will of the Father will always be done. The efficacy of our prayers does not lie within our attitudes or abilities. In fact it is our inability that should glorify God. He uses weak little creatures like us to accomplish what He has ordained and decreed. When we see our prayers being answered it is because we are aligning our wills with His. When we don’t see the answers we were hoping for, it is because we are sinfully praying from the flesh for what we want over what He wants. We all know that what He wants is good and is for our good, even if it means our deaths. Yes, even our deaths can be part of God’s good purposes. Just because we cannot see the effect of something that happens in the future doesn’t mean that the seemingly bad thing that happened is not God’s will. We just assume so much about our own importance. The focus of the Christian faith isn’t us or what we want! The focus is the glory of God, and what He wills. After all aren’t we supposed to lose our wills and be conformed to the word and will of Christ? We cannot pray His will away, or pray Him into doing something we want Him to do from our carnal fallen wills.
Read what God says in His word.
“Romans 8:26-39 (NASB) 26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,
“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
WE were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Yet another laughable notion from the introduction,
“But let me ask you this: If the way you are praying isn’t getting good results, why then would you resist change in this area? “
I wonder what the magic formula must be?
His righteousness imputed to us is what makes our entering into prayer acceptable to God. Without that and the Holy Spirit, we would still need a High Priest. Good thing Jesus is our High Priest, and we don’t need any other.
Finally we get to Chapter 1 to read this gem,
“In 1969, I heard a wrong teaching that Satan was “God’s messenger boy.” It said that the devil can only do what the Lord allows, and therefore, God uses him to work good in our lives. That’s totally wrong, but I didn’t know it at the time. I brought this teaching back to my girlfriend and she bought into it completely.”
First off, satan is a creature. He was created by God as Lucifer. He sinned, was cast out of Heaven to Earth, and is now satan. He can’t do anything without God allowing it. If you remember from reading Job, he had to ask permission from God to torment Job. All creatures can only do what God allows. If God wants to stop you from doing something, He can simply stop you. God is sovereign.
Then he goes on to show allegedly the terrible outcome of believing in the sovereignty of God, and the fact that satan is a created subject of our Lord. I don’t know if his story is true or not. Even if it is, and even if they died because of their prayers, all it proves is that it was their time to die. Nobody dies without God ordaining it. Not even a sparrow dies without God ordaining it. Of course there are martyrs all throughout history who have died horrible deaths. These deaths have been exclamations of their lives of faith. Still today, Christians die horrible torturous deaths because of their faith, and love for Christ. I guess they must be praying wrong according to Andy.
I doubt his stories about the boy from school, “coming down with leukemia the next day” are true. We don’t pray to satan, and satan doesn’t answer our prayers. Satan has no ability to read our minds and hear prayers from us. Satan doesn’t control when we die. God does. If satan kills someone it is because God has ordained that fashion of death for them. If the stories about two young people are true, then God had ordained for them to die in just the way that they died.
So his son was raised from the dead, because his relationship with God, and how he prayed. When my father died and stayed dead, when my friend’s 2 year old died and stayed dead, it was our fault because we didn’t pray right, or have the same communion with God? What a load of garbage. Andrew Wommack needs to stop teaching and repent.
Here’s a good one, “The heart attitude behind your prayer interests God much more than the actual words you say. Just because you spend an hour, or more, in what you call“prayer” doesn’t mean you’re accomplishing anything. If your attitude is wrong, you’re praying wrong!”
Guess what… we are all praying wrong. None of us can pray a prayer on our own that is acceptable to God. The Holy Spirit makes our prayers acceptable to God along with the justifying work of Jesus.
Apparently Wommack teaches universal or general atonement. Here it is from his own book,
“As far as God’s concerned, the sins of the entire world have already been forgiven. The Lamb’s perfect sacrifice dealt decisively with the past, present, and future sins of every believer and nonbeliever alike. This doesn’t mean that all are just “automatically” saved (or healed). All individuals must receive for themselves by faith what Jesus Christ has already provided in order to actually benefit from it. A gift given isn’t fully yours until it’s received!”
Did you catch that? Apparently Jesus justified everyone’s sins with the Father. Apparently He atoned for everyone. So I guess Jesus’ work was not perfect or sufficient. I guess it was wasted on those who would not repent. Here is the problem with claiming He made salvation available for everyone, it means that all sin has already been paid for, so then even if a person doesn’t repent and believe in Christ, their sin is already atoned for. That means they have no guilt before God. There is no need for anyone to accept salvation or the gift as he puts it. It is a ridiculous statement. This is what happens when you let bad theology, emotions, and tradition dictate your faith.
It is apparent that Wommack has used an Arminian highlighter (black sharpie) to highlight/redact all of the verses about predestination and election. The lady he mentions on page 7 who was unsure if she was saved or not could have been helped by good theology, not Wommack’s hodge podge, grab bag, word of faith nonsense. If the lady had not been granted saving faith and repentance, then no matter how much she intellectually affirms the gospel, she will not be saved (justified). Being saved (justified) requires God to grant you true repentance, and faith along with the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. He only does this for His elect, whom He has predestined from before the creation of the world.
And yet more nonsense from Andy, “What if someone in a wheelchair came forward for healing during a service? If I prayed and didn’t see him rise out of the wheelchair immediately, I could ask the audience, “How many of you will stand in faith together with me? Let’s fast and pray in agreement, not letting go of God until He heals this person.” I bet I could persuade 90 percent of the people to go along with that! Yet God’s Word clearly proclaims, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Col. 2:6). In the same way you appropriate and walk in forgiveness of sin, you receive healing, deliverance, prosperity, and everything else! If begging God to save the lady in the first scenario is inappropriate, then doing so for healing or anything else in the Christian life is absolutely wrong too! Christ already made full provision for the abundant life through His atonement. It’s now not up to Him to do, but you to receive what He’s done!”
How about the Christians of the early Church or the middle east right now? The martyrs of the Church live an abundant life in Christ, even in their poverty and deaths. Christ talked more about suffering for the faith than living in comfort and health. Matter of fact, those are signs you are doing it wrong.
And more idiocy, “Sometimes Christians approach God, praying, “I know You can heal me, but You haven’t done it yet. Therefore, I want to learn how to make You heal me.” This is rank unbelief! They don’t believe that He’s already done it and they think they can make Him do it. Wrong! Such unbelief explains why more people aren’t experiencing healing.”
So how about Christians who suffer long lingering deaths? You can pray for life and health if you want, but you should be praying for God’s will to be done, and for Him to be glorified, after all isn’t that what Christ did before the crucifixion? Luke 22:42, “saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.””
We haven’t even made it to the 2nd chapter of this disservice to Christ, and twisting of His word to bilk people out of money and true peace.
“In our Bible schools and teaching seminars, we confidently instruct people not to “pray” for the sick, but to heal them. Jesus commanded us in Matthew 10:8 to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, [and] cast out devils.” There’s a huge difference between healing the sick and just praying for them!”
Matthew 10:8 is not an instruction to the Church. It is instruction to the Apostles during the foundation of the Church. The Apostles who were specifically personally appointed to their office by the incarnate Christ during His earthly ministry were to fulfill Matthew 10:8. Bad hermeneutics lead to Wommack’s horrible interpretation. The wages of sin is death. We are all under the curse of original sin. We all will die. There is not a single person alive today who will not die unless the Lord returns first.
And more false teachings,
“Jesus Christ completed everything necessary to save and heal every person. You believed and received salvation. Healing comes the exact same way! It shouldn’t be any harder to receive your healing since He provided it at the same time as forgiveness for your sin. Neither does it take any more faith to raise someone from the dead than to see them born again!”
If this is the case, then Wommack and his cronies should all never die, and not wear glasses, get sick, or ever go to the doctor. They need to go to each nursing home and raise all of the old people from the dead when they die. This is just ludicrous and idiotic. Anyone who believes this tripe is being deceived. They join the health and wealth false gospel with their soteriology. Do you see the problems here? If you don’t do these miracles, you aren’t justified to God according to Andy’s way of thinking.
You had to know this would show up sometime,
“As a citizen of the kingdom of darkness, the enemy legitimately dominated your life. At the time of your salvation, you hadn’t been fasting, praying, studying the Word, attending church, paying tithes, or living a holy life.”
Never mind that we are not Jews, we are not under the ceremonial law, and we have the instruction to prayerfully consider and give with a cheerful heart. There is no set tithe for Christians.
Here Wommack perverts the gospel,
“The good “news” of the gospel is that God has already forgiven you. Why would you choose to go to hell with your sins forgiven?”
with this I am done. I can’t take anymore false teachings. I’m not even out of the 1st chapter of this mess. The good news of the gospel my friends is that you and I are filthy, wretched sinners, who like the people God killed during the flood, deserve death and hell for all eternity, but God being rich in mercy, and grace, provided a way for us to be saved in the work of Jesus on the cross. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Christ took on our guilt. He took the punishment we deserve as sinners, and when He finished suffering the punishment for every sinner who would repent from sin and believe in His works on the cross, Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected on the third day. He now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. The Holy Spirit regenerates the elect and according to the Father’s will the elect will repent and believe in the work of Christ. They are saved and cannot be lost. The Holy Spirit indwells them and is their seal for redemption. Here is another link to why you should stay away.
Lately I’ve noticed on social media quite a few adults expressing the notion of running away. I’m at a loss. I have no understanding of what that feels like, or even how it would be desirable. I’m just not getting it. Is it a real desire to run away from life and responsibility? Is it a desire to run away from the pain of relationships that don’t measure up to your expectations? Is it the desire to run away from the mundane? Is it some combination of the these things? I just don’t know. If you are one of the people who desires to, “run away” please clue me in to the reasons for this desire, where it comes from, what you think it would accomplish, how it would make your life better.
As a mature man (Old Fashioned Man) I have learned the value of dogged determination, tenacity, reliance on God, fighting the good fight, standing when others shrink back. This is something that I am. I see myself as a gatekeeper, or a sentry. I protect my family, the weak, and defenseless. I know other men like myself. We value the same qualities. We value the company of others like us. We put personal problems behind us to accomplish the difficult tasks. We don’t squabble over trifles. We only feel entitled to what we have earned, be it good or bad. We take both equally well, acknowledging our shortcomings. Running away from our situation never crosses our minds as viable option. It is completely foreign to us. If you are one of the people who thinks of running away, imagine explaining what darkness is to a person who has lived in the light.
It seems as if people no longer value these qualities in a man. It seems that the only people who care about these things are the men themselves. We’re the last of a dying breed of American men. The relativistic, secular, humanists have taken over. They are redefining what it means to be a man, or to be strong, or moral. If you are white then they scream, “white privilege!” If you are an old fashioned man they call you a, “misogynist.” If you are a Protestant Christian they call you, “homophobic, intolerant, hater, etc.” So being one of the last straight, white, Protestant, men on the planet, I feel a bit lonely, but never think of running away.
I stand my ground and try to do what is right according to God and His word. I can see the value in that. The temporal cost is nothing compared to the eternal end of the saved man. The challenges in the Christians life are God ordained. He sanctifies and grows us through them. They are the way in which we are matured. Ask Jonah how running worked for him. So when others sin against us, do us wrong, hurt us, take advantage of us, we can’t see them as the bully or the enemy. We have to see them as the slave of sin that they are. We need to see that what they have done to us is such a small thing in comparison to what we have done to Christ with out sins against Him. For us He was crucified, to redeem us from slavery to sin. What Christ sets out to do, He succeeds and finishes. Trust in Him, and His goodness. Don’t look at the situation you are in as a reason to flee. Be bold, and stand in the face of adversity. Stand for God and His truth. Be a man for God. Be a woman for God. See others as better than yourself. Serve others in the way that has been exampled for us in Christ.
Relationships are also to sanctify us. You have the spouse you have for a reason. God gave them to you for your growth. God knew exactly what you needed, perhaps not what you want, but what you needed. You have the exact children you are supposed to have, because as they grow so do you. You have the co-workers, and friends you are ordained to have as well for the same reasons. Trust God, do what is right according to His word. Learn to love like He does. Learn to offer grace to those who don’t deserve it, just like He gave you grace.
Are you suffering the mundane drudgery of life? Well, stop it! Realize how miraculous the gospel is. Realize how dramatically God saved you. Marvel at the power of God’s creation. You are made in the image of God. Be in awe of Him and His work. If you can be in His word and see His works, then you’ll realize there is nothing mundane about living for Christ and the expansion of His Kingdom via the preaching of the gospel, and the saving of sinners.
I hope none of you are seriously thinking about running away from your lives. I hope it is just an emotional statement of being tired or exhausted. If this is the case, take comfort in knowing the rest of Christ. He has fulfilled the law for us. Every moment is the Sabbath for those who are resting in the righteousness of Christ and not relying on their own works to save them. I hope that if any of you are having problems that seem overwhelming that you would seek help from brothers and sisters, or look for your answers in God’s word. Find your purpose, identity, and comfort in Christ.
Tired of getting fake friends requests, that are obviously spam? I mean, seriously… Why would anyone take a half naked picture of themselves, use it as a facebook profile picture, and then ask people with no obvious connections to be their friend? Have I got a solution for you! Just copy the following gospel presentation, open your favorite word processing app, paste it, and save it. The next time you get a spammy request, just copy and paste the text into a message to that person. If genuine request, they will get the gospel. If it is a spammy request, they will get the gospel. It is a win all the way around. ***begin copying here***
You have sent me a friends request. I don’t know you. Why should I accept your request? Did you know that all people are sinners. We have all sinned against God, by breaking His laws. By nature we are His enemies. The Bible says that none are good, and we are all storing up wrath against us for the day of judgment. Do you know how to be forgiven? Do you want to be right with God so that He will know you and you will know Him? You must repent of your sins, and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the eternal Son of God. God made for Himself a body in the womb of the virgin. He came into His creation as fully God and fully Man. Jesus lived a perfectly righteous life. He went to the cross without guilt. He bore our sins on the cross. He took our punishment there. For all who would be saved, He paid their penalty, and justified them to God. He did this for the glory of God, and because He loved us. He atoned for our sins. We must repent, or turn from our sins, and trust in the righteous work of Jesus on the cross to atone for us. We must not trust in our own works. The Bible tells us that God sees our best works of righteousness as, “filthy rags.” Instead we trust in the perfect work of Jesus on the cross. When we do that, the Holy Spirit will come into us and bring us to new life spiritually. We will be born again, and He will start conforming us to the word and likeness of Jesus. Have you repented and trusted the Savior? www.needgod.com
If you don’t respond to this message I will report this as a spam account.
Some folks have the notion that the Bible, and Christianity, is all about them, and getting saved by Jesus because He loves them soooooo much. Don’t get me wrong, Jesus does love those He has been given by the Father, but you know what He loves more than sinners saved? If you said anything other than the will of the Father, you might try again. That’s right, He loves the will of the Father. So much so, that He loved sinners, while they were yet sinners, so much that He died for them. So if Jesus loves the will of the Father, why do we seem to love our own wills so much? Why do we seem to put this inordinate value on our own volition and liberty? Why, when Christ our Savior, submitted His will to that of the Father, by dying on the cross, do we refuse to bear our cross?
I believe the answer is this man centered hermeneutic when reading the Bible. It seems to be intrinsic to a large part of American Christianity. So when we read a passage like this one, where God is using the Assyrians to punish the Israelites as judgment against them, we see it as mere history. We completely glaze over the obvious fact that God has used them like a weapon. Even the Assyrian king didn’t give God the glory. He wasn’t humble at all. In his impudence, he thought that he was the one who did all of those things to Israel. Just read the passage, and I’ll be there when you are done…
“Isaiah 10:12-15 NASB So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness.” (13) For he has said, “By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, For I have understanding; And I removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures, And like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants, (14) And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest, And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped.” (15) Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a club wielding those who lift it, Or like a rod lifting him who is not wood.”
Finished? If you’ll notice how arrogant and proud the king was, it is obvious that he suffered the same self-delusion that many Christians suffer from today. We think we are just the center of the Christian world. Oh sure, we give lip service to Jesus, just like some musician on an awards shows thanks Him, along with their entourage and momma. I encourage you to look at what God says about this arrogant man. Look at verse 15. In verses 12, and 13, God says He is going to punish the king after He is done using him. We then read why God has determined to do these things,
“Isaiah 10:16-22 NASB Therefore the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors; And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame. (17) And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day. (18) And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body, And it will be as when a sick man wastes away. (19) And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number That a child could write them down. (20) Now in that day the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. (21) A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. (22) For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, Only a remnant within them will return; A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.”
God is the author, His glory is the point, His Holy One is who it is all about. God chose Israel to demonstrate this through, just like He chose us in Him before creation to demonstrate this through. Be honored to be used by God in your lowly state as a vessel of honor. Don’t think that there is something about you that warrants this utilization, not your works, not your choice, not your fallen faith, not your fallen repentance, no there is nothing about you that would make you appealing to God.
“1 Corinthians 1:22-31 NASB (22) For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; (23) but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, (24) but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (25) Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (26) For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; (27) but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, (28) and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, (29) so that no man may boast before God. (30) But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, (31) so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.””
It is all about Jesus. God grants the new birth, the saving faith, the saving repentance from dead works, to Christ, God is the author of our salvation, for His glory, amen.
Years ago I was a Fox News Christian. My political ideology took precedence over my theology. In other words, I cared more about being conservative, than I did about Christ, and the will of God. I also saw conspiracies all over the place. It seemed to me that there was a world government that controlled all of the governments of the civilized world. I thought that the world government was comprised of the ultra-rich and influential. I haven’t really changed my mind about that. I do think that the enemy has his minions running a satanic plan. What has changed is that I no longer think it is possible to fix the problems via politics. I also think that the enemy can only do what sovereign God allows. I believe with all my heart, all that matters now, is to preach the gospel to the lost and perishing world. I read something from Isaiah today that brought this to mind.
Isa 8:11 — Isa 8:16 For thus the Lord spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, “You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’ In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it. “It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread. “Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. “Many will stumble over them, Then they will fall and be broken; They will even be snared and caught.” Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
Of course, I’m not encouraging you to take this section out of context. It is obviously a prophecy from God to Israel, through Isaiah. I get that. The Israelites were suspicious of the true prophets of God. They didn’t like the warnings they gave them. They were relying on their allegiances with pagan nations, they were hoping on pragmatic security and not God. Relying on our own feeble abilities and righteousness keeps us from God the same way that it kept many of the Israelites from Jesus when he came. This also reminds me that living in fear of what could happen, and what the government will do to us, is not honoring to God. God is the one who we should fear. He is the one who we should concern ourselves with. We should seek his glory. The true hope of the world is not electing the right politicians, it is the wonderful gospel of Jesus. Only the transforming work of God can change the hearts of sinful men, and reform the reprobate heart. So we preach repentance of sins, and faith in the work of Christ on the cross, to justify men to God, and save their souls from the flames of Hell.
Mat 13:1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.
Mat 13:2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
Mat 13:3 And He spoke many things to them in parables,
He was preaching to the Jews about salvation and what that would look like,
saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;
Mat 13:4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
Mat 13:5 “Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
Mat 13:6 “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
Mat 13:7 “Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.
Mat 13:8 “And others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
Mat 13:9 “He who has ears, let him hear.”
Then His disciple ask the question,
“Why do You speak to them in parables?”
His answer in context to what He was teaching seems pretty clear.
Mat 13:11 Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
It appears that He knows that they are not permitted to understand, and that the parables are part of that judgment from God against them. God has granted to them to hear and understand, but He has excluded the others as judgment against them. They don’t have the ability to hear or understand according to God incarnate. If we have Jesus we have the Father. He sovereignly willed that they not come to an understanding of salvation.
Jesus explains further that it is because they didn’t have him from the beginning and that what they have(not him, but self-righteousness) will be taken away.
Mat 13:12 “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
Mat 13:13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Here Jesus recalls the prophecy He gave through Isaiah,
Mat 13:14 “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;
Mat 13:15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’
As judgment against them they would be blind until the land of Judea was destroyed by the Romans. So God determined to do this to them in His sovereign, just, and righteous will.
This in context to the earlier verses shows us the other side of the coin, that these people are the ones who will be given more.
Matthew 13:16-17 NASB
[16] “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
[17] “For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Matthew 13:34-35 NASB
[34] All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable.
[35] This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.”
These truths are from the beginning, before anyone was created.
Our lives will end. The time we have, we are spending. It is up to us how we spend it, but once it is gone we cannot get it back. We can spend it being angry, sad, or hurt by our loved ones, or we can love them more than being angry, sad, or hurt. Nonetheless, the time will be gone and we will be remembered. If God is our master, wash the feet, endure the suffering. Jesus left the majesty of Heaven, to seek and save the lost. He washed the feet of sinful men whose sins He would suffer for on the cross. Our sins, on the cross of His suffering. Surely our loved ones have sinned and hurt us. We have sinned and hurt Jesus. What is our suffering compared to His? Forgive the broken sinful people in our lives, and love them more than we love our own anger, sadness, hurt, pain, and being victims. We are more than that, through Christ we are conquerors. He has won the victory in the war. Dear Christians, just keep fighting the battles. When we fall to the enemy’s tactics, remember Jesus. Repent, and get back in the fight against sin. We must give grace and mercy to our loved ones and all people who hurt us or make us feel like victims. Our time will be well spent, loving well.
1 Peter 4 (NASB) 1 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. 4 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God. 7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. 8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint. 10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Share the Sufferings of Christ 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner? 19 Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.
Hell, being in the presence of the one true God, perfectly holy, pouring out His righteous and just wrath upon you, that of which you built up for yourself during your life. Where there is complete darkness. No hope of illuminating light. In the presence of God without hope of being in communion with Him. A bottomless pit, feeling that horror of a step missed before an eternal fall, perpetual descent in darkness. All that can be heard is the wailing and gnashing of teeth. All your fellow denizens suffering their own rewards for inequity for all eternity. A fire that burns your being that never consumes you, but persists in torturous torment. The next moment is worse than all before it. How long have you been here in this place? Has it been a moment? Has it been a year, or one thousand? Why didn’t you heed their warnings? Why did you believe some of them when they told you Hell was just a fairy tale, designed to make you behave? Your flesh is infested with crawling, wriggling worms feasting with no relent, no reprieve. If only the fire and the worms would consume you and bring your suffering to an end! No, this will not end. It will go on for eternity.
In an untormented mind, you reasoned with no reason that this could not be true! If God is real isn’t He supposed to be loving? So I’ve been told! He wouldn’t dare do this to me! Fool! God is also infinitely just and righteous. Your sins are against Him! How must an infinitely evil crime, against an infinite God be punished? Infinitely! From this hopeless estate there is no escape. There is no corner, nor hole to hide from the holy wrath of almighty God. No chance to recant of a false testimony against Him whose creation testified to you about Him continuously while you were alive. No repentance now from your willful rebellion against Him. O for relief from this unbearable attention! Heed this warning and let it settle in your mind! You know you deserve Hell. You know God is true. Repent before this becomes your fate! Put your faith in God in the flesh, Jesus the god-man, who worked atonement on the cross for you who would repent and believe in Him. He can cleanse you and clothe you in His righteousness. You can be eternally forgiven instead of condemned. For while you live in sin you are already under certain condemnation. Turn from your ways and turn from wrath. Turn towards Christ Jesus and His ways. Turn towards His glory and abide in Him.
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