Jesus tells us a story about a young man who left home and went to make a name for himself. (Luke 15:11-32)
It could be a kid going to college with his parents credit card.
Or a kid chasing a dream with his fathers support and blessing.
We know this guy. We have seen him or her in our families or neighbors. We have seen them in ourselves.
We are free. We don’t have to answer to anyone.
We are trying to make it. We are chasing a dream or forced to take care of ourselves.
But we get pulled off the path.
Like the man in Jesus’ story.
He started riotous living. He started making friends in low places.
He was meeting all the best guys or best girls. He was getting drunk and
using drugs of all kinds. He was down at the club, or local bar. He
woke up next to all kinds of people.
And all the dreams died.
We’ve been there, or seen people there. We can smell the smells,
taste the tastes and hear the sound of the music thumping. We’ve done
the beer runs, and smoked the things that make us wanna go get some
more.
They are living for the party. Living for friends. Maybe living the
dream. But, it’s not the real dream. It’s not real hopes and dreams.
Jesus says that trouble comes. A famine in the land.
And trouble always comes. The party always ends.
It could be an accident that causes it. Maybe a divorce or break up. The loss of income and friends. Illness.
But, the party ends.
This causes us to get desperate. These times of trouble can lead us
to draw more into the party life, trying to hold on. Drinking and
drugging more to try to numb the fear and pain. Chasing things that is
not good for us. Trusting people we should not trust. Waking up in
places we do not want to wake up in. As our friends abandon us.
And we break. We have no choice. We are ruined.
Jesus said, the man went and got the worst job possible. The lowest of the low, just to keep himself from starving.
But, even that wasn’t working. He wanted to eat the pigs food.
We might end up homeless, digging in the dumpsters. We might even
consider a life of crime. Stealing, selling drugs, stripping and
prostitution to survive.
We hit rock bottom. We are as low as we think we can go.
Do not be deceived. There are always worst things that can happen. Rock bottom has a basement.
Jesus said, that the man woke up. He was willing to be a slave in His fathers house.
How desperate are you? Are you desperate enough to turn to God and
say “I can’t do it! I don’t know what to do! But, I need you! Do
whatever you want but please save me and help me.”
Are you so desperate to be free from your troubles and addictions and
life, that you just give it all to God, and even if He kills you or
throws you in prison or cripples you, it’s ok.
How desperate are you?
Jesus said the man went to see his father. He was desperate. He had ruined his life and was not worthy for anything good.
But, the father saw his child a long way off, and ran to him. And hugged him and held him.
That’s God.
He sees our broken and desperate heart, long before we even get to
Him. And He comes running. He comes running to save us and help us.
He wraps His arms around us and makes us His child. He brings us a robe and a ring and we are with the father forever.
And our life changes. We see things happening. Good or bad, but it’s
ok because the Father is with us. He shakes it out and gives us hope. He
grows our faith as we draw closer to Him. And we see him move. And more
faith grows.
The dreams come back to life and we see them growing in Him. We see
good things coming into our life, and it comes even more abundantly.
God himself is working in our life and everything is fine.
He blesses us where we are because we are His. We are His child and we turn to Him and know Him.
And He always comes running when we turn to Him. He always moves to
help us, even when we can’t see it. He is working and it will work out.
He is with us.
I often run into Christians who speak of the devil as though he is
powerless and weak. That he is a defeated foe and not a real enemy.
It’s almost like they haven’t actually read the Bible.
Yes, Christ defeated Satan on the cross.
Yes, God is in complete control.
But, no where in the scriptures have I found instructions for us to ignore the enemy. or act like he has no power.
As a matter of fact the Apostle Peter says, “Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing
that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in
the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)
A lion will roar, and it will cause the herd to flee. This gives the
lion a chance to devour the young, weak and infirm. We have the power
through faith to resist. But, it is an obvious affliction on those who
are attacked.
It’s not something to be ignored, or belittled.
We are told in the book of Jude to not be foolish in how we speak of
Satan, the fallen angels and spiritual forces. They have power and
authority. (Jude)
Paul says That we are not to be ignorant of the enemy. (2 Corinthians 2:11)
So, we need to know what we are facing. Not to treat the enemy as if
he is nothing or ignore him, but to face the enemy properly.
We are called to resist. But, how can you resist if you do not know anything about the enemy? (1 Peter 5:8-9, James 4:7)
So, let’s do a quick overview of the enemy.
It is believed that Satan fell through pride because he wants to be God. (Isa. 14:12-15)
At some point after his fall, he used a Serpent to deceive Eve, and get Adam to fall. (Gen.3)
Adam had dominion of the Earth. But, when he fell Satan took that
dominion. That is how he became the god of this world. (2 Cor. 4:4)
There’s a lot more to this story, but it could lead to an entire book.
So, Satan has authority in this world.
Paul plainly states it. All the Apostles state it.
When a person is born into the world they are born in a right
standing with God. They are subject to death, but not hell. Until they
commit the first sin, knowing it’s a sin. Then, they are subject to
hell, just like all humans.
It is also at this time that the person becomes a slave to Satan.
They are his children. They are his slaves to various degrees.
(Ephesians 2:2)
Here’s where some Christians will jump up and say “Yeah but he is defeated! God is in control!”
Yes, Jesus defeated the enemy on the cross. And there will be a future victory as well. (Gen. 3, Luke 10:18, Revelation)
This means that when Jesus died and rose, He defeated Satan. He set
the prisoners free. ALL the prisoners or slaves under Satan’s control
are free. But, only a few will hear the call and turn to Jesus to obtain
it.
Saints are free from the control of Satan. We are saved and cannot
lose it. But, as the Bible warns we can open doors and let the enemy
back into our lives again. We can fall under that power. Take addictions
as an example. (Matt. 12:43-45)
We can also still be impacted by Satan working through other people or nature.
All of this is plainly taught by the scriptures.
But, there will still be those who say “Yeah but God is in control!”
He certainly is.
Nothing can happen to us that God has not allowed.
We see this both in the book of Job, and when Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked to sift him as wheat. (Luke 22:31-33)
Why? Why does God allow the devil access to us?
It seems that Satan has some kind of legal authority to ask, and
expect an answer. We can speculate on why this is. But, we do not fully
understand how things work in the spirit realms.
What we can say is that we have faith and power in Jesus Christ to
resist the enemy. We have access to the King in prayer. We have God’s
Word and promises we can stand on. We also have a relationship with God.
We know Him. We know His character, and the Holy spirit dwells in us.
So, we know that God is always good. He seeks good always. He loves
us and wants us with Him. So, no matter what happens, He is on our side,
and we can use it to grow closer to God, and grow in faith. We can turn
evil around for good.
But, how can you do that if you do not recognize evil? If you ignore
the fact that we have an enemy, how can you stand against him or turn
his attacks around for good? (Rom. 12:21, 2 Cor. 10:1-6)
If you feel that everything comes from God, then how can you call anything “Evil”?
Does God do evil?
Of course not, but He does allow things to happen. It’s our job to
have faith in Him and turn to Him. Then turn the evil for good. We use
it to save people or help people.
The scriptures tell us that the enemy possesses power. So, let’s do a
list of what this power is. And I am in know way stating that this is
everything. But, starting from the beginning of the Bible and going
through we see that the enemy has the power to…
Deceive people who are walking with God and know Him, if they are not
careful. If they doubt God’s Word, and Goodness. He can use our loved
ones to get us to turn from God. He can use nature as a cover for his
activities. We see this in Adam and Eve.
We can see in the book of Job, that Satan and his angels go about the
Earth. We see that He has the power to cause a tornado to kill people.
He can get humans to rob and kill others. He has the power to cause
disease. He has the power to get our loved ones to turn against us. He
also has the power to kill. (God would not let Him kill Job.)
The book of Job shows us that no matter what happens God is with us and we are to stay with Him. Trusting Him and His Goodness.
But, we see here that Satan is the prince of the power of the air.
He apparently has power to control the weather. Which explains why we
see ancient people all over the world making human sacrifices of babies
to gods, so they can have good weather for crops, and fertility. We see
the destruction weather and climate can cause.
He uses humans to kill, steal and destroy, obviously. How does this
control occur? It’s possible that it starts with a whisper into the mind
of a leader who then gets men to follow him. A leader whom Satan worked
to put into a position of power.
We see that he gave Job a disease. We do not know what disease. It doesn’t matter.
All of this, the destructive weather, violence of men and disease,
came upon Job and led Him into despair. So, Satan can also cause
despair. (Except for God. Job continued to trust God and lean toward
Him, and that’s what saved him.)
Job also shows that Satan can get our loved ones to betray us, or at least add to our torment.
I tell you this so we can recognize what is going on around us and
pray properly or respond correctly. We respond with spiritual warfare.
We respond with love and prayer and praise and trust in God, and His
promises. We overcome evil with good. We take the bad that happens to us
and turn it around to serve God and help and save people.
So, let’s fast forward to the New Testament.
Immediately after Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. (Matt. 4:1-11)
This is a lesson for us. Have you ever considered that the moment you
got saved and was baptized Satan was allowed to tempt you, and sift you
as wheat?
I’m not saying he is. I’m not saying it happens to everyone, all the time.
But, the question must be asked. If you’ve never been tempted by the
enemy, or faced spiritual warfare, then whose child are you?
The temptations Jesus faced are temptations we all face, except for Christ, they were far more extreme.
We learn that we can overcome these things by faith in God and His goodness, as well as using His Word.
So, we see that the enemy has the power to tempt us, and try to get
us to fall. But, we can resist and if we fail we can turn to God and
confess it to Him. (1 John 1:8-10)
We also see that Satan has power over the nations of the Earth. This is confirmed in the book of Daniel. (Dan. 10)
Paul also speaks of how the enemy has power in high places. (Eph. 6:12)
When we look at the ministry of Jesus we see that there are unclean
spirits and demons that work in peoples lives. and we are called to wage
war against them.
We also see that his greatest earthly rival was the religious leaders.
Jesus plainly said they were the children of the devil. (John 8:44-47)
So, we can say that Satan used religious leaders to kill Jesus and
persecute the Church. He got these religious leaders, to use the
governmental powers, to kill people, and impose laws upon them to
destroy their freedom.
The Bible also says that there are false brethren, false teachers, and false prophets. (2 Cor. 11:26, 2 Pet. 2:1)
All of whom are probably listening to Satan.
Since he is the god of this world, and has power over the disobedient
children. and he has power over nations, governments and religious
leaders.
Then, we can say that the empires seeking to conquer the world, are
doing it by his authority. That when they oppress people and persecute
saints, it is by Satan’s authority, throughout history and even today.
Ok?
We see from Jesus’s ministry that the enemy can cause a friend to
betray us and deny us. Even in the face of death. Even to betray us to
people who will kill us.
Friends and family.
The Bible teaches that saints will be betrayed unto death by those closest to us. (Luke 21:16)
History teaches it.
We see saints dying the most horrific deaths for Christ, caused by the devil.
The enemy will attack and tempt our family in order to get them into
terrible situations simply to hurt us. But, we turn this for good and
tell them about Christ.
All of the apostles and saints around the world have faced
persecution. And there is more to come. That is the reality, even though
we might not face it in our current time.
So, as you can see the enemy has power. We are not called to belittle
it, but to stand against it. We are not called to fear it, but to turn
it around for good.
It is a tactic of the enemy to get believers to not wage war, by making us think he has no power.
Now, understand that through Christ we have power and authority over
the enemy. Through faith we can stand on His Word. We are overcomers
through Him who is in us.
But, if you think there is no enemy you won’t exercise that power.
People crack jokes and say “The devil made me do it.”
Well, maybe he did. Maybe instead of joking about it, we need to wage war and make sure of what is going on.
Maybe there is a devil behind every bush. Maybe it’s a roaring lion.
God is with us, but we are called to wage war. If we are saved we are free from Satan but we are still in a war.
God is with us. He protects us. Nothing can touch us unless it is allowed, and we can overcome it.
This life is just a moment. Every terrible thing only lasts for a second compared to eternity.
And when we die we go to be with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:1-8)
There’s no need for fear. There is no need to be focused on the enemy.
But, we are called to wage war.
We are called to turn to God and focus on Him, and we shall overcome.
The sign of Christ in you is not that you work to quit sinning.
It’s not that you pretend to be sinless, and go to your church every time the doors are open.
The sign is that you confess that Jesus came in the flesh, and confess Him as Lord. (1 John 4:1-3, 1 Cor. 12:1-3, Rom. 10:9-10)
The sign is that you love God and love others. (Matthew 22:36-40)
The sign is that you believe the Word. And you believe it so much
that you become a fool for Christ. You believe things that this world
rejects, and that makes us fools. (Rom.4:3, 1 Cor. 3:18-23)
The sign is that you believe so much that you do not want people to
suffer or perish. If you really believed you would be telling people
about the great things God has done for you and them. You would be
getting the Gospel out. (2 Peter 3:9, Matthew 10:32-33, Luke 8:38-39)
The sign is that you want to help people because you love them. You
want to go feed the poor, and clothe the naked. You want to visit the
prisoner and comfort the sick. You want to set the slaves free. (Matt. 25:31-46)
The sign is that you desire a relationship with Him, and things are
removed in your life that distract you from that relationship. You watch
for Him and grow in Him and will bear fruit. (John 15)
The sign is that you take all the bad that has happened to you, and
you turn it around for good. You use it to grow and to help others
overcome. You don’t bury it in the soil. (Matt. 25:1-30)
You use the gift God has given you to save and help others. You don’t
wrap it in a napkin and keep it in your pocket. (Matt. 25:1-30, Luke
19:12-27)
The sign of Christ in you is a focus and an urgency to build the
Kingdom. To seek His face. To let Him guide you and abide with Him.
(Matt. 6:3, Proverbs 3:5-8)
You endure hardness. Your endure molding as a potter molds clay. You
endure refining like a smith removing the dross from the silver and
gold. ( 2 Timothy 2:3, Jeremiah 18:1-6, Malachi 3:1-4)
And because of this, you won’t have the desire or time to sin.
But, you will sin. We all sin. If you say you don’t sin, then you lie
and Christ is not in you. When we sin we confess it to Him daily, and
He washes our feet. He cleanses us of all unrighteousness and works to
help us to overcome. And to Him, it is as though we never sinned.
Period. (1 John 1:5-10, 1 John 3:9, Psalm 103:12)
We do not sin because He does not hold it against us. When God says something doesn’t exist. It is gone.
He overcame Sin. He overcame Satan. He overcame Death. (John 16:33)
It’s all gone. That’s a fact. We are over comers in Him. (1 John 4:4)
Our faith grows in Him. As we know Him. Our lamps are full of the oil of faith because we have seen Him moving in our lives. (Matt. 25:1-13)
If you spend your life focusing on not sinning, your focus is on yourself. Not Christ.
Just let it go. Let Him remove what He sees fit. Let Him break you
and remold you. Trust Him. You will see yourself, sinning less. It will
just happen, as you focus on Him and let Him work. Remember, it’s about
you and Him. It’s not about what others think. (John 21:21-22)
What is written above is hard. But, its also easy because you cannot
do it. You just turn to Him and let Him do it. It’s not a checklist of
things you do. It’s a relationship that grows in you and you gradually
see yourself doing more of these things. Remember, dead things do not
grow. Are you growing in Christ, or are you dead?
This life is but a breath. This world passes away. Just turn your focus to Him.
He has overcome the world. He is eternal. And He is in you.
It’s supposed to get us to wake up and turn to God, so He can save us and help us.
We fall on tough times. We have a spouse who betrays us. We have kids
who reject us. We have friends and family who throw us under the bus.
We lose jobs and homes and friends. We are ruined, even by people who
claim to be good Christians.
But, God will establish you. Just turn to Him.
He promises.
“the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.”—2 Thess. 3:3 KJV
Speak this promise to yourself to build up faith. Faith comes by
hearing the promises of God. Speak it to yourself and hear what it says,
and believe it.
“The Lord is faithful. He will establish me and keep me from evil.”
Jesus prayed for you, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out
of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”—John
Chapter 17 (verse 15) KJV
It’s going to happen.
Just turn to Him. Pray and ask Him to save you and help you. Trust Him. Follow Him.
We can look at Joseph. ( Genesis Chapter 30-Chapter 50 KJV)
His brothers betrayed him and threw him into a pit.
That’s just like how you’ve been betrayed or lied to or destroyed by people claiming to be family or friends or others.
They were going to kill him, but God used one of the brothers to speak mercy, because God had a plan.
He has a plan for you. He has made a way for you to escape. Trust Him.
They sold him into slavery.
They lied to his father, and anyone else who might need to know. They covered up their lies and betrayal.
When you do good you don’t have to hide it. When you do God’s will, it’s ok if you get found out.
But, God was with Joseph.
I’m sure there were some times, when it was scary, and Joseph didn’t
know what was going to happen. There were probably times the devil
whispered into his ear to get him to fear and doubt.
I’ve had the same. You probably have to.
But, God came through.
Joseph went to work for a decent man named Potiphar, who God used to
lift Joseph up to the highest place in that man’s household.
God established Joseph. He set him in charge of everything. Simply because Joseph trusted God.
What the devil tried to destroy, God saved and established. What his brothers sought for evil, God turned around for good.
And He can do it for you. He’s done it for me, and will again.
But, the devil wasn’t done with trying to derail God’s plan.
Potiphar’s wife came tempting Joseph.
The type of temptation is irrelevant.
The devil can use all kinds of things to try to trip us up.
He tempts our flesh to see if we will bite. Then he destroys us. It
could have been theft, or too much wine. It could have been an accident
or misunderstanding. It could be a bad boss who the devil uses to get
you to fail. If you fail, just turn to God, confess it and let Him grow
you.
But Joseph did not fail. He resisted and resisted.
He wanted to be right with God. The God who had established Him. The God who had given him everything.
But, Potiphar’s wife lied and falsely accused Joseph. And he was thrown into jail.
You might have been lied on. They might have twisted things to
destroy you because you would not submit to their evil ways or abuses.
They might have listened to the rantings of a petty person who always
wants to get their way.
Remember God sees. Revenge is His, He will repay.
And He will establish you. Which is probably the best revenge. Keep your heart pure, despite their evil.
God established Joseph again. He made him head trustee in the jail.
That’s God. He can bless you in the midst of terrible things.
When they seek to do you wrong, know that God will establish you and
keep you from evil. He will bless you. He turns all things around for
our good. Just turn to Him and love Him.
All that time in Potiphar’s house, and being trustee in the jail was
preparing Joseph and training him. Not just in practical things, but
preparing him in spirit. Joseph continued to abide in God and trust Him.
Till the time came for the blessing to break free.
And God raised him up and established him again, as the head of
Egypt. It was an Egypt who needed a wise worker from the darkest pits.
God established him, and He will establish you.
“The Lord is faithful. He will establish me and keep me from evil’
It’s a promise.
Turn to Him. Trust Him. Abide in Him. Have a relationship with Him. Endure the attacks that come and stay with Him.
God will establish you.
Your faith in Him and His promises will move mountains.
And on that final day, you will be with Him in Paradise.
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from
Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
Is it complaining against God? Or complaining about life? or
complaining all the time? Or is it actually speaking the truth against
false things? Sometimes the Holy Spirit shows us things that are wrong,
and we don’t know how to properly deal with it.
I have been involved in Christian Ministry for over 20 years. I’ve
been to churches where the members are silent about the most ridiculous
ungodly activities and projects, because they do not want to be accused
of murmuring or complaining.
In the book of Exodus Chapter 4 and Numbers 17, we see that the
Israelites are murmuring and complaining against the Lord, and He
expressly condemns it.
Some Leaders in churches use this verse and others as a tool to stop
ALL dissent in a church. According to these leaders, the flock are
supposed to accept and silently go along with everything the leadership
does. They are supposed to be silent in the face of abusive behaviors,
and the latest fad that does nothing for the Kingdom.
That is false. Sin in leadership, is still sin. Does God support sin?
The scriptures speak of false teachers, false prophets, and false brethren. (2 Cor. 11:28, Gal 2:4, 2 Peter 2)
We are supposed to be wary of such things. That means we should rebuke and stand against it.
As the latter days get closer and closer things will get worse and
worse. Believers need to stop being silent about the direction their
churches are going in.
When the Holy Spirit reveals that something is not right. Your duty
is to pray and ask the Lord, whats wrong. Pray for the people, and study
the Word to make sure you are correct. Sometimes, it’s better to just
pray, than to confront. Or speak out.
But, when the Lord leads you to speak out, do it in the right way, with love and respect.
You will probably be rejected and ignored, or even attacked. You
might be accused of causing division or murmuring and complaining. You
might be treated as a troublemaker, and never asked to do anything in
the church.
Yes…these are Christian people who do these sorts of
things to other believers. There are people in churches who are about
controlling things not building the Kingdom.
Understand that “Murmuring and Complaining” in the book of Exodus,
was a specific thing. They were saying that they wanted to go back to
Egypt. They spoke of all the good things of Egypt.
You have to understand what this really is.
It’s like if God delivers a man from alcohol abuse.(Egypt) and the
man constantly says that his life was better as a drunk. He misses the
parties, and fun. Even though God is moving him to a good place.
That’s what murmuring and complaining is. It is not speaking against
false brethren or leaders, or opinions on how to spend money. If
leadership must twist scripture to maintain control, then that should be
a red flag. You need to know this because churches in these last days
will be ran by false brethren and teachers. Look at China today. The
legal above ground churches are all ran by pastors who are taught in
government funded colleges and are government sanctioned, not God
ordained. The churches from God are underground. In China, if you speak
out against false doctrine they call the secret police and you find
yourself beat. That is where we are headed globally.
Real murmuring and complaining is against the work God is doing in
us. It is a tough work. It is a battle between spirit and flesh. The
flesh wants to go back to Egypt, but the Lord is taking us to the
Promised Land. The journey is hard. We might lose jobs and homes, and
friends, and family, and reputation and everything that we hold dear.
But, we are gaining the Lord. He is our promised land.
The minute He saves us we have Him. IF we really have Him. Then He works in our lives to change us.
The Israelites refused to confess Him as Lord and trust Him. It’s not
about the Law. Joshua and Caleb were not saved because they obeyed
rules. They were saved because they trusted in God alone for salvation.
They did not trust in their own strength, but in His. They believed His
promises. When we complain about the Lord, we are doubting Him. It
destroys faith in us and others.
We are called to abide in Him. That is a relationship.
When we cry out to God, He comes running. But if we are not willing
to really give ourselves to Him, then we are not saved. The Israelites
refused to trust that God was good and doing good things. This is the
same lie Satan told Eve in the Garden. He got her to doubt God’s
goodness, and promises.
So, understand that murmuring and complaining is about a specific
thing in the scriptures. It is not a blanket term to be used to silence
people. In the book of Acts, murmuring led to the creation of the
deacons. (Acts 6:1-8) So, as I said the Holy Spirit could have stirred
some of the people to notice something was wrong, and used it to help
the early church, and the deacons were formed. In today’s churches if
someone said that the widows were being neglected, they would be called a
complainer. They would have to speak to 5 different committees and then
go before a business meeting, and then just maybe they might get
something fixed. At least until the next committee takes over. Unless of
course, they are a member with money. (James 2:1-9)
In Phillipians, it says “Do all things without murmurings and disputings:” (Phil. 2:14)
In context, this is referring to two things. God’s working in our lives, and our appearance before the unbeliever.
“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling.For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:12-13)
God’s
work in our lives can be hard. If we are not careful it can open doors
for a spirit of bitterness. Where we become snarky and talking trash
about the hardness of the battle between the flesh and spirit, or the
changes in our lives.
This phrase “work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling” often leads people to wrongly assume it refers
to a works based salvation doctrine. but it’s actually referring to
dealing with the work God is doing in our lives. Like a child whose
parents have decided to move to another city for work. The child has to
work out how to deal with this, while not becoming angry and bitter.
They have to work out how to deal with the loss of a school, and friends
and a life they had. Major changes happen when we really turn to God,
and we need to work out how to deal with it and not become bitter.
This bitterness can lead to murmurings and disputing with others in
the church. So Paul goes on to explain, that we should be of one mind
and not murmuring and disputing in front of those who we are trying to
help, and lead to Christ. Again, it is not a blanket verse to silence
people from speaking out when something is wrong. It is an admonition to
do it properly, at the right time, and in the right way, when possible.
Course, understand that control freaks and oppressors, also control all
the means of speaking out.
We can see in the next verses that Paul’s admonition for us to not murmur and dispute is to avoid driving people from Christ.
“That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without
rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye
shine as lights in the world;
Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the
day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.”
(Phil. 2:12-16)
Our murmuring and complaining doesn’t hurt God. But, it can drive
others away from knowing Christ. Because who would want to join a group
that is so un-happy? And again, it comes back to false leadership.
Leadership should solve things properly. Not just silence dissent.
Leaders who do not treat people rightly, are actually engaging in the
thing they seek to stop. Hiding it, doesn’t fix it. It is fixed through
love, and a proper answer that heals.
Not only does complaining drive people away in church situations, but
also in your own life. Nobody wants to be around that. If every time you
come around it is always negative or complaining. No one will want to
be around you. Drive that demon out.
A final word on murmuring and complaining is that when you do it, you
are driving away your blessings. The tongue has power. You can speak
the promises of God and believe them and watch Him work. or you can
speak negative, complaining words, and watch it work. Both will reap a
harvest. If you constantly speak negative things about yourself or
others, do not be surprised if it doesn’t become true in your life.
We reap what we sow.
As we get more and more into the latter days we need to get rid of
the false beliefs and teachings we have clung to. God will do it if we
don’t. Scripture says that we are to judge ourselves lest we be judged
with the world. In these last days, the things we have done or not done
can come back to haunt us if we refuse to see it and confess it to the
Lord to change it. This goes for entire churches, not just individuals;
as it shows in Revelation. So, when we see wrong things in the church
we need to speak out about it. This is judging ourselves as a body. It
is not complaining. (1 Cor. 11:31-32, 1 John 1:9-10, Rev. Chapters 1-3)
As we move into these latter days we are going to face tough times.
We will see that the things we complained about and disputed over,
really do not matter. When you can barely afford heat, new carpet won’t
matter. When you have to quietly meet in a hidden basement because of
persecution, having the latest sound systems and praise music, won’t
matter any more. There are believers all over the world, who have
nothing. While we bicker and destroy peoples faith because of opinions
on a building or types of paint, or views on doctrines.
Only God will matter, as He leads us through the dark dry desert in those days.
Don’t be like Lot’s wife, who desired the fine things and life of Sodom.(Gen. 19)
Understand that the Bible is full of these warnings for a reason. It
is not about murmuring and complaining. God can handle your complaints.
It’s about looking back after putting your hand to the plow. (Luke 9;62)
It’s about never confessing Him as Lord, and never having a
relationship, and never knowing Him. It’s about not trusting Him. The
Israelites in the wilderness did not trust Him.
If we do not know Him. We cannot trust Him. We cannot abide in Him. (John 15:4)
Our complaining is a reflection of our feelings toward God and His
promises. It drives people away from Christ and us. It drives blessings
away.
Turn to Him and trust Him.
—–
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from
Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because
thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt
be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I
will also forget thy children.”—Hosea 4:6
When you read this verse in context, you will find that the people of ancient Israel at this time did not know God.
They had all kinds of information about God. They had priests and prophets. They had God’s Law. But, they did not know God.
God is not concerned about whether we have knowledge of Him, or His
laws. He wants us to know HIM. When we know HIM. We grow in our ability
to Walk in the Spirit. Which means we grow in our ability to obey His
laws. Because like Jesus said,
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets.”— Matt. 22:37-40
When you love. You are obeying. When we know God and are taught by
the Spirit, we are in relationship with God. This is Walking in the
Spirit.
It’s not about trying to beat yourself up to obey a set of laws
because God is going to get mad at you or get His heart broke. That’s
what knowing ABOUT God does to you.
But, when you know God, and have a relationship with Him. It’s not
about obeying a set of laws. It’s about Him working in your life to grow
you, so that you are just walking in the Spirit with Him.
The people of Israel at this time did not know God, and this allowed
terrible trouble to come into their lives. Israel had made a commitment
to be God’s people. They were supposed to be a shining light on a hill,
designed to draw all people in the world to know God.
Every person in Israel was supposed to be so learned of God, and know
Him so intimately that they were ALL considered priests, in essence.
But, the fact that they did not know God, opened doors for destruction
into their lives.
Basically, since the parents didn’t know God. The children would
suffer from it. Drunken parents who don’t know God, lead to drunken
kids, who do not know God. And when the kids hit rock bottom, they do
not know who to cry out to because they were never led to know God.
As Christians we are grafted in to Israel. That means that on a
spiritual level; in the eyes of God, we are adopted children. We are in
the covenant. We are treated as equals and joint heirs. (Romans 11)
So as believers we look at what happened in the past and we learn truth from it. Paul said,
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might
have hope.” —Rom 15:4
So, we can apply this verse in Hosea to ourselves, and what we see in our churches and our own households, and nation.
We are destroyed because we do not know God. We know about Him. We
have heaped to ourselves teachers. We go to Church, Bible Studies, and
read the latest fad book, from the best Christian authors. But, do we
know Him? We sit in our church or car and clap to our favorite Christian
music, but do we know Him?
If you knew Him, you could not help but tell others. You could not
stop telling about the good things God has done for you. You could not
help but want to grow closer to Him.
Do you tell people about Jesus? Have you read the entire Bible, or is all your Bible knowledge from what your Church told you?
You cannot know Him, unless you are born again and let the Holy Spirit teach you.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Is not about more information. It’s about knowing Him.
Are you saved? Ask God to save you and grow you. (Acts 2:21)
Turn to God and confess to Him that you believe Jesus is the Lord,
and you want Him to be your Lord. Believe that He rose from the dead.
This is believing God. It is believing what God has told you in His
Word. (Romans 10:9-10, Romans 4:3)
Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit and teach you. (Luke 11:11-13, John 16:13)
The Bible says, “But the anointing which ye have received of him
abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same
anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and
even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”—1 John 2:27
This means that God himself is perfectly capable of teaching you.
Believe this. Trust this, and let Him. This is the relationship.
Just talk with God. Just be real in prayer. Do you believe He is
real? Do you believe He is with you always? Then, talk to Him like He
is. Do you believe He is your father and friend? Then, talk to Him like
He is. Be real with Him.
Do you really believe He can teach you? Then treat him like your teacher.
When you read your Bible. If you do not understand something. Or get
confused. Instead of running to the preacher, or a friend or the
commentaries. ASK GOD.
Pray about it. This is part of the relationship and growth. Ask Him.
Then trust that He hears you and will open the scriptures to you. Then,
move on. Keep reading and living and praying.
It might take time. This is part of learning patience, and learning
to trust God. But, as you read and study, one day you will come across a
verse that will jump out at you. This is called “Quickening”. The Word
comes to life.
Then, the question you asked will be opened up to you, and this new
verse, will make connections to the verse you asked about and it will
make perfect sense. It will be an “Aha!” moment. This is God teaching
you. Not only does this teach you. But, it builds your relationship with
God, and strengthens your faith.
But if you run to the pastor, and ask them about the verse or
question. You miss the chance to know God. It becomes head knowledge
about the author of the Word, instead of knowing the Author. When you
take time and care to know the writer, a transfer of relationship
occurs. God will teach you. Trust Him.
You must remember that on Judgement day. The worst thing to hear is “Depart from me I never KNEW you.” (Matt. 7:21-23)
What I am telling you is how you come to know Him. Did you really get
saved? Or is it just words you spoke and words you hear every Sunday?
Our salvation, opens the door to knowing Him. If you never got saved,
then you can’t know Him. If you don’t care to know him. Then, you
probably did not get saved.
Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him
will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever
shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is
in heaven.”
If you won’t tell people about Jesus, then you gotta ask if you really know Him? Are you really saved?
Look at the story of the Gadarene demoniac. (Luke 8)
Jesus cast demons out of a man and saved his life. Jesus then told
Him “Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done
unto thee.”
That is our testimony. That is how we overcome the enemy. We tell
people about Jesus. We tell people about the great things God has done
in our lives. (Rev. 12:11)
But if we cannot do this, we gotta ask ourselves, why? Do we really
know him? Have we really seen Him doing great things in our lives? Or
are we just going to church?
If every Christian told all their friends and family and Facebook
friends about the great things God has done in their lives, what would
our country look like?
But, you can’t tell others if you don’t know Him.
How else does the Spirit teach us? He teaches us through our lives.
If we read scripture and do not understand something, we can ask God.
Now, sometimes God might show us in the Word. Or He might bring a
teacher to us. Or He might open something else up to teach us from our
lives.
For example, we can learn a lot about how God loves us and treats us
by looking at how we love our own kids. We are His children. If we love
our kids, how much more does he love us?
Does this lead to more questions? Then, ask God and He will show you.
God has gifted people to be teachers of the Word. Teachers of the
Spirit. God will lead you to the ones He wants you to learn from.
Again, this is something between you and God. HE is teaching you. But,
He has led you to someone that is teaching what God wants you to learn.
God can lead you to different teachers or many teachers. But, it is God
who is teaching, if you let Him guide you to the one He wants you to
learn from.
You are not here by accident.
There are times of trouble which can come into our lives. If we turn
to God, He will help us and can use it to show us things about Himself.
Again, we want to KNOW God. Not know about Him. When we face trouble,
and draw closer to God we learn of HIM, when we see Him move in our
life.
Our life turns to shambles, when we don’t turn to Him and know Him.
This shambles is a call to turn to Him. It’s a chance to know Him.
Do you know Him? Let Him grow you.
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from
Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
In order to understand the Gospel. We must accept God's power and
authority. God has awesome power and can save whoever He wants. However
He wants.
1. God calls us. No one is saved without
first being called by Him. If you are saved. Then you are called. God
calls everyone. If you are reading this, then you are being called. God
uses many methods to call us and draw us to Himself. He might call us many
times in life. He calls everyone.
God speaks into our mind and hearts. When He calls we hear it and we know it's Him. We can either accept or reject.
We
might not understand. We might not want to hear Him. We might put it
off, or reject, but we cannot say He didn't call, and we didn't hear. He
is God. He knows. Be real.
But what about the
guy in the jungle somewhere? Yes. God has called him somehow, and he
has heard. Perhaps he looked at a starry night and thought someone made
this, and God spoke to him and said "I made it" and the man believed and
wanted to know more.
Whether he accepted or not is between him and God. Not all saved people will look like you.
God is working. Trust Him.
2.
Belief! A person hears the call and believes it's from God (
Full understanding is not required) and the person turns to God (repent)
God knows, God sees, God understands. Whether we do or not is
irrelevant.
The picture in the scriptures is
Jesus calling His disciples. He said, "come follow me" and they knew
they should listen and they followed. They did not know the cost. They
just heard and followed. Jesus did not require anything else.
Another
picture is the prodigal son. He "comes to himself" and goes home in
humility to the father, and the father comes running. The father
demanded nothing. When the son woke up, that is what happens when we
hear the call. We realize the Truth.
Another
picture is the thief on the cross. He was guilty. He knew it. He was one
step above death. And he realized who Jesus really was. He heard the
call in his heart and woke up. He called Jesus "Lord" and put his faith
in him. Nothing else.
Just turn to God and trust in Him. Be real with Him. Just ask.
3.
God will bring you to Jesus Christ. It might happen immediately or it
might happen later. But, God will show you that Jesus Christ is the
Lord. When we see it, we confess Jesus is the Lord and believe God
raised Him from the dead. ( Roman's 10:9-10)
When
you hear the call, then turn to God and confess Jesus is the Lord,
putting your faith in Him for salvation you are saved. You cannot lose
it or give it away. God holds it. He owns you. Your salvation is totally
on God. Not you.
4 What about works? Faith
without works is dead? Well, confessing Jesus is Lord with your mouth
is a work. And that's all God requires. Your faith and confession of
Christ.
When you get saved The Holy Spirit
comes to dwell in you and He teaches you. He grows you. He helps you in
your relationship with Jesus.
He leads you into
works. He leads you into Baptism which is a work.. He leads you into
Communion which is a work. He leads you into Fellowship with
other believers . He gives you a hunger to read God's Word..
The Holy Spirit helps you to Love God and others. He gives you a
ministry to serve God and others
5. Sin and sanctification. Notice I
said nothing about sin so far. Because before we are saved we do not really
know how fallen We are. We do not know how wicked we are. Sure we might
realize something is wrong. Or that we do things wrong. But we do not
fully know.
And we are not required to. God
knows. He calls us, and loves us anyway. He wants us to turn to Him and
confess Jesus is the Lord, so He can save us and cleanse us.
But
we are not required to understand all that. We might know we sin. We
might know we fail. We might know we need Him. But, we might not
understand. We just know He called us. And we need Him.
After we get saved. God washes us in the Blood of Christ. This cleanses us of all sin. Forever.
It is finished.
Then
as we walk through our lives, the Holy Spirit teaches us and grows us.
He molds us and shapes us and we become different people. We sin less
and less as He sanctifies us. But, we were already forgiven the day we
were saved.
When we sin we confess our sins to
God. This is a work. This brings it up between you and Him. And as you keep confessing
over time, the Lord changes your mind and heart and you find that you no
longer do those things. Confessing sin to God and growing and abiding in
Him is a work. But you were saved the minute you turned to Him.
It's all totally God. Not you. We are to turn, believe, confess and abide. All of which He helps us to do.
Praise Jesus. God does it. He has made it as simple as possible. We have no excuse.
-----
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from
Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
