SUBJECT - SETTLING FOR LESS THAN GOD'S BEST??!!![2]
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When I left off
last month, I was beginning to explain why it is that there is such a dislike for those that are wealthy, by those that are middle class and poor.
The reason for this rests with the idea that the only way the wealthy got to be like that, in their eyes, is because they have, in some way, stolen from the poor, to enrich themselves.
This mindset, is based primarily on the idea that the wealth of the rich, is what is keeping the poor in the state[condition] they are in.
'If only we could take from the rich and spread the wealth, then that would be fair for all concerned' is what they say.
What do you notice about this statement, or thought???
It shows that these people are looking to man, in this case the rich, for some type of relief from, or betterment of their situation.
It is one thing for unbelievers to feel this way, but totally another for believers to go along with, and support it.
Because, what they are doing is settling for the solutions, and explanations that men that don't know God come up with.
In a lot of these cases, the wealth that the rich enjoy, is the result of them being obedient to God, as I eluded to last month, according to the subject verses and on down to verse 14.
And the thing about those scriptures is that they apply to everybody. It doesn't matter if you are wealthy or not, black, white, red, yellow, or a purple people eater, male or female, young or old, educated or not. IF YOU ARE WILLING TO BE OBEDIENT TO GOD, AS THE SCRIPTURES SAY, THEN YOU CAN BE WEALTHY AS WELL!!!!
Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Josh 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: FOR THEN THOU SHALT MAKE THY WAY PROSPEROUS, AND THEN THOU SHALT HAVE GOOD SUCCESS.
Once again, the key is, your willingness to obey God!!!
This may sound kind of harsh, but, there is a monumental wealth of Truth in it and that is,
the reason for the poverty and suffering of the vast majority of the poor in this nation, and the world for that matter, is totally their own fault because they are in rebellion against God.
Let me put it this way.
It is impossible for anyone that is obedient to God, as the scriptures say, to be poor, destitute, and defeated.
The only way this could happen to a believer is if they, themselves, choose to live like that.
And why would they choose to live like this??
Because someone has put a guilt trip on them that they are supposed to be poor, because that is what Jesus preached about. And besides, Jesus, Himself was poor.
Oh, really??!!
Even though He didn't own a house, or car, or wear a lot of fancy clothes,
you never saw Him asking someone else for something. Every time He needed something, He had it.
Remember when, He and His disciples fed over 10,000 people from 5 loaves of bread, and 2 fish??? And when they were done, there were 12 baskets full left over??
[MATT. 14:15-21, 15:32-38]
note. The reason I used the number 10,000 above, is because the scripture said, in the first example, 5000 men, beside women and children, meaning 5000 men plus women and children.
Does that sound like poor to you???
The other gospels of Mark and Luke, give similar accounts, showing that this happened on more than one occasion.
Then we have the example where He was asked if He would pay a tribute [offering]. What did He do???
He told Peter to go catch a fish, open its mouth and get the money to pay the tribute.
[MATT. 17:24-END]
Does that sound like poor to you???
Remember, according to the examples I gave last month, just because a person doesn't have money on them, but has it in the bank, then, they have nothing to worry about.
Well, since the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof [His bank], then Jesus owns, and controls every thing on, under, and above it, so how is that being poor??
Now get this, His disciples [followers, children], benefited from being with Him.
This means, if you are a believer [born again], and you are obedient to Him, then you have the same, power and authority backing you up, as His disciples did!!
What makes it even better is the fact that you are no longer disciples/followers, but Children.
And once again, as the bible says,
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Want another example??
Jesus and His disciples are on a ship, when a storm comes up and threatens to destroy the ship and all aboard. Jesus is asleep in the lower level of the ship, and his disciples come down to wake Him up, because they were afraid.
Jesus then came up and rebuked the storm, and it died down. Then told them, they had 'little faith',
What this tells us is that He was telling them, they didn't need to wake Him up, they could have done the same thing, themselves.
[MARK 4:35-41]. Or at the very least, rest assured that they would make it to their destination in one piece.
Now, key to this passage of scripture is found in verse 35, where He says,
'let's go to the other side.'
When He said that, it set in motion the fact that, that is what He was going to do, and
nothing was going to stop Him, because He is in control.
Consequently, the disciples had absolutely nothing to worry about, because He had spoken it.
This means also that if Christ/God has spoken something over your life, and you are being obedient to Him, then nothing but you yourself can stop it.
To put every thing in to perspective, as I said earlier, the only one standing in the way of you being all that God says you can be, is you!!!
And how do you stand in the way??? Unbelief, lack of knowledge, and settling or compromise.
Each of the above can be likened to the examples of a person having a need and either not having, or not knowing that they have available to them, the necessary resources to provide relief.
By them being in their situation over a long period of time, in most cases, they take the mindset that this must be the way they are supposed to live. They have been dealt this hand, so they will have to make the best of it.
There is so much wrong with that mindset that it almost borders on insanity.
Especially if you call yourself a Christian.
Look around you.
What do you see??
You see a world that is going insane.
Wars, killings, genocides, rapes, abuse of women, children and even the elderly. Parents killing their kids. Kids killing their parents. And you have men, trying to be women, and vice versa. You have men marrying men and women marrying women. You have women, killing their babies, while they are still in the womb.
And what does the world do??? In far too many instances, they rack it up to statistics, try to find some solution that is equitable to everyone, because they don't want to offend.
In short, their solutions, if there are any, all center on one thing. Finding common ground.
Now, I could go along with that if the common ground was Jesus Christ. But, that is not what they are looking at. They are looking at what they can come up with.
Every time they come up with something, and try to implement it, it may work for a minute or two, then it will fall apart.
Why??
Because it takes far more power, knowledge and wisdom than mankind by himself can come up with, because he can't see past the moment he is in.
In other words, you can't make plans for tomorrow, if you don't know what tomorrow will bring.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
People accept the way things are in their lives because they have tried to make plans for the future, without knowing what the future has in store for them. And when things don't work out, they either settle for their condition, or go on the offense trying to inflict injury and pain on those that they see as being the source of their misery. When, as I have said, it is mostly their own fault.
That is what the ungodly do. And sad to say, a lot of believers fall in to that same boat.
This is another reason that the believer should study the bible, for contained within it is all the information one needs to prepare for the present, and the future.
If a person tells you that tomorrow at 3am, they will break in to your house, you will undoubtedly prepare for that occurrence, wouldn't you??
Well, by the same token, God has told us what to expect, by way of tests, trials and trouble, and how to prepare for them. That way we won't get caught off guard.
Preparation is the key to being able to receive, and hold on to, the best that God has for your life.
Because, just as sure as in the natural world, someone will try to take from, hurt, injure or kill you, so too there is an enemy that will seek to do the same thing to you, in the spiritual realm of things.
And the thing is, nothing we do in this physical realm, can stop him. It takes someone that has the Spiritual equipment to deal with him.
The bible says,
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I AM COME THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE LIFE, AND THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY.
Take a good look at this scripture.
The obvious point being made in the first part is the idea of what a thief is, and what they usually have on their mind.
However, it is also tells us what Christ is here for[all caps].
Now, to put this in to perspective.
The thief that Christ is talking about here, is not your average human thief, but rather the spiritual father of all those that are unbelievers, the Devil.
And herein, lies one major fact that the ungodly, and a lot of Christians don't grasp because they have settled for what they are told by others, rather than researching [studying] the bible.
That fact is, all who want to blame others for their misery, are actually blaming the wrong individual[s].
It is the devil that is behind all of their, and our misery, and rather than attack him [the devil], we attack them.
Think about it like this, what better way for an enemy to get the better of us than to get us to not even know he is there causing our problems, and getting us to focus on another person, group or nation.
Well time[space]is up!!! More
next month!!!