SUBJECT - NO VISION, NO FUTURE!!! [PT. 3]
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When I closed
last month, I was explaining how we in this nation, and the world for that matter, have come to be in the mess we are in, and it has to do with the mindset we have that says,
'this is the 21st century, all that stuff about living a Holy, Righteous life, is a long time past. Those that try to promote the idea that if there is a God, obeying what He says, will somehow make things better for you, is lunacy, and is the sign of a 'religious nut' that needs to be put away!!'
The reason they say this is because they are totally blind to the Reality of God's Word [Christ]
[St. John 1:1-3, 14].
We are told that
in the beginning, God created everything. There is nothing, seen or unseen, that was made, without Him. And how did He create them??? He spoke them in to existence. Read the full account of the creation in
Genesis 1:1-25, and you will see that every thing was created out of nothing more than God's spoken Word.
Verses 3,6,9,11,14,20,and 24, tell us that God said something, and the next thing we see is that it happened.
Note: This is a crucial point, everything today, is functioning the same way it was designed to function from the beginning. In other words, nothing has changed, because God's Word has not changed.
The reason I say it is a crucial point, is that it gives us a foundation to build on. That foundation is, God's creation and all that He created has not changed from its original design, because neither He, or His Word has, or will change.
This sets the stage to combat the argument that because this is the 21st century, things have changed.
The only changes that may be misconstrued as changes, are by God's original design, where for instance He dealt more harshly with mankind in the beginning, under the Law, than He does today, under Grace.
I got a little ahead of myself here.
Going back to Genesis 1, as I mentioned God created everything we see today, by the spoken Word, except for one thing, and that is man.
In verse 26, God takes a different approach in creating us. He suggests something rather than commanding it.
He then goes on to personally make man out of the materials He has already spoken in to existence. This means He formed us with His own Hands.
He did not speak us in to existence. This is the first sign that lets us know just how important man is to Him, above all the rest of creation.
He made us, in His image.
It is far easier to say something, even if it is God, than to actually physically do something.
God wanted to give us all of His qualities, so much so, that when He finished creating us, He personally breathed life in to us, and we became living souls.
Now, if you can grasp what I am saying about the relationship between God and man, then, you can begin to get the vision of just how much we mean to Him.
With that being the foundation, we can get the vision of how, through our own disobedience to Him, starting with Adam, not Eve, the world became mess we find it in today.
I am not going to go through all the intricate details as to how, through every generation we find ourselves in this mess today, other than the fact that, just as God warned Adam what would happen if he disobeyed Him in the garden, the same thing holds true for us today.
Nothing has changed!!! If the world were to last another 1000 centuries, God's Word would still be doing what it is doing.
And what is it that His Word is doing?? It is proving that there are great benefits for being obedient to Him, and great pain and suffering to doing otherwise.
I hear so many people today talking about
'there can't be a God, if we see all the misery and suffering going on all over the world, especially when it comes to children. If there is a God, who would want to serve a God like that??'
I could see their point, when I was out in the world, so to speak. However, when I came in to the knowledge of God, and how He has things set up, I got the picture/vision, as to what the real problem is, and how to get around/overcome it.
Obedience!!! 1Sam 15:22b [a]...... [b]Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
This one scripture, among many, shows us why we are in this mess.
We don't want to obey God!!!! We don't want to obey anything when it comes right down to it. As soon as someone makes a rule or law, we will set about to break or go against it. So, if that rule or law, is something from years or centuries past then it should be ignored because it doesn't apply. It is old fashioned, and out of date.
The clear vision to the solution of our problems is quite frankly, being obedient to God.
In the natural, we have laws in place to live by. They are there for the sole purpose of providing an environment whereby all of us can live peacefully.
As long as people follow and lie according to them, then, all will be well.
However, when someone decides to operate outside of those laws, then, they need to be dealt with before things start to get worse. Most, if not all of us can agree on this point. If you let a lawbreaker go unpunished, then, it won't be long before he/she will get worse and worse, not to mention the fact that others will begin to do the same thing. That will begin to be the downfall of that society.
If we can understand that, then, why can't we understand that same principle being applied to the laws of God??
The bible says,
Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Every thing that you and I do, is sowing a seed that will one day bring forth some type of fruit. It could be blessing, or cursing. It all depends on what God has to say about what we are doing.
A lot of people/Christians tend to believe that God's Grace, covers our wrongdoing/sins without any action on our part. It is automatic, they believe.
Well, that is not how it goes!!
Sure, His Grace will cover our sins, thanks to Christ. However, that only takes place when we acknowledge the fact that we have sinned.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
As I mentioned earlier, all of this that I am going through is to help you get the vision of how God has things set up, so that you can get blessed, and He can get the Glory.
There is a complete lack of knowledge of this area in the lives of most people, especially Christians.
As a result, many are living far below their true God Given potential.
Look at it like this.
A certain individual, has millions of dollars set aside for you. He tells you that all you have to do is give him a call whenever you need it. He gives you his phone number to call. Yet, instead of calling that number, you dial several different numbers, and inquire about the money, but never get anywhere.
Why??
It's simple, you aren't using the right number, so you never get connected to him.
Well, even though God doesn't use numbers, so to speak, He has a procedure that must be followed, in order to get through to Him.
That procedure consists of going through Jesus Christ
[John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.]
Now, when I say going through Christ, I am primarily talking about the fact that you have to have made Him your Lord and Savior. And, in order to do that, you have to have accepted His virgin birth, His death on the cross, as an atonement for our sins, and His Resurrection from the dead, as a fact.
When you accept someone as your Lord, you are submitting control over your life, to them.
Consequently, as the apostle Paul put it, you become a prisoner, or slave to that person
[Eph 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,].
Now, I know that in today's way of thinking, especially among the African American community, the term 'slave',, has a meaning that doesn't sit well. It brings back all sorts of visions that we need to bury in the past, because of the horror that we experienced over the centuries.
Yet, here we have the apostle Paul, essentially embellishing the term, and idea of his being under the complete control of a Master, that was the Ultimate of what a master should really be.
Christ was One that set the standard of how one who had control of the life of someone should treat them.
You see, too many of us Christians, tend to reject the idea of anyone having control over them, because of the perverted relationship between master and slave, in our historical past.
What we need to do, is learn just what kind of Master Christ is. In doing so, you will find out that He is One who loves those that are His. He looks out for, and protects them, from all harm. You could say, He essentially takes the position of a Father, looking after his kids.
Just like a father, He is willing to provide everything you might need, in order for you to have a blessed and prosperous life. After all, if the earth, and everything in, on, under, and above it, are all His,
Psa 24:1 The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein, then that means you, as His child, have the benefit of having access to it all.
Now, while it may seem like I switched from talking about prisoner, and slave, I really haven't because in a sense, if you are a parent, then your children are supposed to be obedient to everything you say, while they are young. This constitutes the same relationship as we, as servants/prisoners/slaves/and children of God, are supposed to have with Him.
But, you see, we have this mindset instilled in us that says, 'I am grown, and I will do what I want, when I want. Ain't nobody gonna tell what I can and cannot do!!!' And, herein lies one of the biggest, but most overlooked situations that occur in our lives that cause us to miss what He has for us. If you profess to being a Christian, but, at the same time carry the thought that you are going to do what you want to, then you haven't really made Christ, Lord of your life.
You can't have it both ways. Either He is Lord of 100% of your life, or He isn't.
Now why would someone feel that they want to make their own decisions on how the approach life?? It is because they don't have a vision as to what totally submitting themselves to the Will of Christ/God will bring them.
So, how is a person supposed to get this vision, after they accept Christ as their Lord?? Well, the first thing they should do is to pick up a bible and begin reading about God, and His relationship to man.
Ideally, most people, because of the time we are living in will start in the New Testament. In fact, there are a lot of bibles out there that only include the New Testament and Psalms, that's it!!
However, if you only avail yourselves of this type of source, you can only get a basic idea of what you have inherited. The only problem is, you get very little information as to why we need salvation in the first place. You have no idea as to what the True Nature of God is like, because it is not addressed in detail, so you don't have a clue/vision as to the depths that salvation reaches down to, to deliver you from the Wrath of God!!
Next month, I will get in to mistaken idea of why it is people, especially most Christians tend not to believe that God still curses those that disobey Him. And as a result, they end up being destroyed.