Monday, February 23, 2015
Pride was in the Heart of the Devil
"If you desire to be honored and admired by men, you have a spirit of anti-christ."
The Feathers are Gone, Now Get Them Back
I have seen this more times than I care to admit. There are many wounded people in the church because of gossipers, who neglect their Bible studies and prayer, creating a social club more like a high school clique than they are a gathering of believers desiring to worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth!
If we do not speak up at an injustice or lie told about another person, then we leave the liar with the impression that we approve. It is also true of those who treat people disrespectfully, if no one speaks up then the sheeple in the room think we agree with the antics of those whose purpose is to malign and degrade someone.
Mocking is another form of lying. To mock someone is telling onlookers that this person is not worthy of our respect, dismissing them, pretending they are not there, is another way of demeaning a person.
When we do not defend the innocent, more concerned about being liked by the group, than we are about righteousness, we are as guilty as the perpetrator.
There is an old saying, "if you got caught up with a bad crowd, you are the bad crowd." No one with a righteous heart could stand by and allow disrespect, mocking and lies to continue without challenge.
I have actually seen someone tell a big lie in a group of people, no one spoke up and the liar later told his victim that everyone in the room agreed with him. I found out later that it was not true, but because those who knew it was a lie did not speak up, those who didn't know better, believed the liar. I did not believe the liar because anyone who would do this, just to elevate self, is lacking in character in the first place.
When we do not openly discipline a liar or the disrespectful, by telling the truth, then we are participating in the sin of lying and disrespect ourselves, by our silence.
The liar counts on others being too timid to contend with him, his tactics are many and varied but the goal is the same, to malign and degrade his target. By the time he gets through, the group disperses all go home, there is a question in the minds of all the people, even those who once liked the target, are now distancing themselves.
It is an interesting phenomena, when a lie is told, someone is maligned, the crowd is more interested in staying friends with the liar and the people who support him, than they are in defending the innocent. That is the culture we live in, we bend over backward to protect the people who sin, while throwing the innocent one under the bus. But this should not happen in our worship gatherings because of the love for the brethren that God said we should have.
1 Timothy 5:20 "Them that sin reprove in the sight of all, that the rest also may be in fear."
1 John 3:14 "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death."
Titus 1:13 "This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith,"
When we are more concerned about maintaining the peace of the social club, then we cannot be concerned about the liar learning not to lie and we cannot be concerned about the heart of the victim.
Proverbs 19:9 "A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish."
Proverbs 14:5 "A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies."
Proverbs 13:5 "The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace."
There are many passages that deal with this matter of a false witness and the damage they can do. It would be good to pray for fortitude to be able to handle things openly as they occur.
The excuse that God needs to speak to them, doesn't hold water, since God placed His Holy Spirit in us and we are to allow Him to speak through us using His Holy Word.
When we use the excuse, "just pray for them and remain silent" we are showing that we do not believe what God told us about being indwelt with the Holy Spirit and His work in our hearts, also using us to do His work in another believer's heart.
When we believe a lie about someone without going to them to find their side, then we have chosen to believe the lie, because we like it. If the lie is told in public, then it must be handled in public, so that all that heard the lie, will also hear the victims side.
The devil loves to intimidate people through fear of men, so that the damage can never be repaired.
I once heard a story to illustrate the damage lies can do if not "nipped in the bud." It is like taking a feather pillow to the top of a mountain on a windy day, slitting it open and letting the wind carry the feathers all over the mountain, now go and get back every feather.....it's impossible to retrieve all the feathers.
If we do not speak up at an injustice or lie told about another person, then we leave the liar with the impression that we approve. It is also true of those who treat people disrespectfully, if no one speaks up then the sheeple in the room think we agree with the antics of those whose purpose is to malign and degrade someone.
Mocking is another form of lying. To mock someone is telling onlookers that this person is not worthy of our respect, dismissing them, pretending they are not there, is another way of demeaning a person.
When we do not defend the innocent, more concerned about being liked by the group, than we are about righteousness, we are as guilty as the perpetrator.
There is an old saying, "if you got caught up with a bad crowd, you are the bad crowd." No one with a righteous heart could stand by and allow disrespect, mocking and lies to continue without challenge.
I have actually seen someone tell a big lie in a group of people, no one spoke up and the liar later told his victim that everyone in the room agreed with him. I found out later that it was not true, but because those who knew it was a lie did not speak up, those who didn't know better, believed the liar. I did not believe the liar because anyone who would do this, just to elevate self, is lacking in character in the first place.
When we do not openly discipline a liar or the disrespectful, by telling the truth, then we are participating in the sin of lying and disrespect ourselves, by our silence.
The liar counts on others being too timid to contend with him, his tactics are many and varied but the goal is the same, to malign and degrade his target. By the time he gets through, the group disperses all go home, there is a question in the minds of all the people, even those who once liked the target, are now distancing themselves.
It is an interesting phenomena, when a lie is told, someone is maligned, the crowd is more interested in staying friends with the liar and the people who support him, than they are in defending the innocent. That is the culture we live in, we bend over backward to protect the people who sin, while throwing the innocent one under the bus. But this should not happen in our worship gatherings because of the love for the brethren that God said we should have.
1 Timothy 5:20 "Them that sin reprove in the sight of all, that the rest also may be in fear."
1 John 3:14 "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death."
Titus 1:13 "This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith,"
When we are more concerned about maintaining the peace of the social club, then we cannot be concerned about the liar learning not to lie and we cannot be concerned about the heart of the victim.
Proverbs 19:9 "A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish."
Proverbs 14:5 "A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies."
Proverbs 13:5 "The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace."
There are many passages that deal with this matter of a false witness and the damage they can do. It would be good to pray for fortitude to be able to handle things openly as they occur.
The excuse that God needs to speak to them, doesn't hold water, since God placed His Holy Spirit in us and we are to allow Him to speak through us using His Holy Word.
When we use the excuse, "just pray for them and remain silent" we are showing that we do not believe what God told us about being indwelt with the Holy Spirit and His work in our hearts, also using us to do His work in another believer's heart.
When we believe a lie about someone without going to them to find their side, then we have chosen to believe the lie, because we like it. If the lie is told in public, then it must be handled in public, so that all that heard the lie, will also hear the victims side.
The devil loves to intimidate people through fear of men, so that the damage can never be repaired.
I once heard a story to illustrate the damage lies can do if not "nipped in the bud." It is like taking a feather pillow to the top of a mountain on a windy day, slitting it open and letting the wind carry the feathers all over the mountain, now go and get back every feather.....it's impossible to retrieve all the feathers.
Lukewarmness is Hateful
The lukewarm are "indifferent", indifference is a form of hate. To say or act as though we don't care is hateful. IF we are hot we are on fire for God, enthusiastic, if we are cold, we are a refreshing drink of water given in a time of need. Lukewarmness has no enthusiasm for anything or anyone but self.
Revelation 3:16 "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
Revelation 3:16 "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
The Times Are Hard, But Believers Have A Hope
For Those who have trusted Christ, may I encourage you in this time of increasing wickedness.
There are those who would call us mean, negative and uncaring because we post Scriptures that seem that way. But remember the most loving thing anyone can do for a lost and dying world is to warn them what is coming and give them an opportunity to trust Christ, so that they will not be counted with the wicked who perish.
Many and even most who hear the warnings will be angry at them, rather than believing them. They will hate and persecute those who are attempting to snatch them from the fires of hell through the preaching of the truth.
They will hate us for exposing sin, even though our motives are to help, not harm. Don't be discouraged by this, the world is getting worse, we are told this would happen in 2 Timothy 3. Members of our own families will be against us, even telling lies to turn others against us, will little or no truth to the allegations.
2 Timothy 3:1-9 "3 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,
7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;
9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was."
Matthew 10:36 "and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD."
Matthew 5:11 ""Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me."
Malachi 4:1-3
"4 “For behold, the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“That will leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
And you shall go out
And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3 You shall trample the wicked,
For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
On the day that I do this,”
Says the Lord of hosts."
2 Peter 3:9
"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."
Proverbs 6:16-19 "There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers."
If you are the object of this kind of hatred, be blessed, you are in the company of the apostles and Christ Himself. It is very hard and discouraging if we focus on the reviling, but if we focus on Christ, we can experience great joy that we have placed God above everyone and everything, in the place of pre-eminence.
Hallelujah, it will be over soon, all this mess will be burned up, our bodies will be new and we have a glorious inheritance awaiting us at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
There are those who would call us mean, negative and uncaring because we post Scriptures that seem that way. But remember the most loving thing anyone can do for a lost and dying world is to warn them what is coming and give them an opportunity to trust Christ, so that they will not be counted with the wicked who perish.
Many and even most who hear the warnings will be angry at them, rather than believing them. They will hate and persecute those who are attempting to snatch them from the fires of hell through the preaching of the truth.
They will hate us for exposing sin, even though our motives are to help, not harm. Don't be discouraged by this, the world is getting worse, we are told this would happen in 2 Timothy 3. Members of our own families will be against us, even telling lies to turn others against us, will little or no truth to the allegations.
2 Timothy 3:1-9 "3 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,
7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;
9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was."
Matthew 10:36 "and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD."
Matthew 5:11 ""Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me."
Malachi 4:1-3
"4 “For behold, the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“That will leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
And you shall go out
And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3 You shall trample the wicked,
For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
On the day that I do this,”
Says the Lord of hosts."
2 Peter 3:9
"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."
Proverbs 6:16-19 "There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers."
If you are the object of this kind of hatred, be blessed, you are in the company of the apostles and Christ Himself. It is very hard and discouraging if we focus on the reviling, but if we focus on Christ, we can experience great joy that we have placed God above everyone and everything, in the place of pre-eminence.
Hallelujah, it will be over soon, all this mess will be burned up, our bodies will be new and we have a glorious inheritance awaiting us at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)