When we walk with Christ we have no need to be jealous of anyone nor do we need to be superior to anyone. The World knows how good Christ is and hate Him for His Holiness and Goodness. Never take seriously the acts and words of jealousy from those who do not have Christ.
Friday, October 9, 2020
A Fool Turned Over Without a Chance
A fool will not change no matter how many beatings he received from life for his foolishness. We are seeing more of these people than ever before.
The culture as a whole hates to be corrected or instructed. They love preaching and teaching that flatters and tickles the ears.
2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.…"
God never told us to stop speaking just because people will not listen, He tells us to speak the truth but the fool will fight against God's wisdom. The anger is not accounted to the one who tells the truth, it is accounted to the fool who becomes angry. The rage that emerges from a fool is on him alone.
Someone once said that a person is not a liar because they told one lie. The Bible teaches the opposite, the liar is one before he actually tells the lie. He has lying in his heart before it comes out of his mouth.
To demonstrate the wisdom of this we can ask ourselves the question, "is a person an arsonist merely because they set one building on fire." Yes, anyone who sets even on thing on fire one time will be arrested and sent to jail as an arsonist.
Sin begins in the heart. We cannot do that which is not in our hearts.
We cannot allow fools to be a part of our lives they will destroy our peace without regret for it. They love to destroy, they love to dominate and ruin those they perceive as better than them.
Yes, I said that; the fool feels no need to destroy those they perceive as less than they are, only those who live kindly godly lives are the targets of fools who know their own wickedness.
We do not think we are better than anyone else as born again believers because we understand that we were once sinners and have been changed by Christ. The fool knows that Christ in us is better than them and want to destroy Him, so they assign falsehoods to us to ruin Christ's witness in us.
Those who rage in anger at the born again believer are really raging at Christ in us. We do not have to take this personally.
I must say though that it was astonishing and very enlightening the day Christ opened my eyes and I saw that we had been raised in an entire culture of rebellious fools who will claim they are Christians while hating authentically born again believers. I am 68 years old now and for many years of my life, I thought we were a Christian culture, only to realize we are not and have not been for many years. The paganistic Christianity of today dominates everything and everyone's thinking. When challenged with the Scriptures most "Christians" fight against it, defending sin and arrogance rather than being ashamed and repentant.
This is the reason we see so many apostate churches today that no only negate the word of God but flaunt their worldliness as a badge of honor. They glory in their perceived superiority while wallowing in pride and deception.
God is not going to save America, He is not going to bless her anymore because He will not bless those who hate Him, and yes they do hate Him as demonstrated in their angst toward His Holy Word. Those who do not love His Word do not love Him.
God commanded us to think with the mind of Christ, but not only that, it is not just a command it is a fact that those who are possessed with Christ will think with His mind. The command is a statement that we will think with the mind of Christ when we are born again. Those who not only don't think with His mind will resist knowing His Word, thus resistance to His Word is resistance to Him. You see, Christ is the very essence of His Word. The Words of God in the Bible are the very nature of God, they not only instruct us they show what we become when we have trusted in Him. He changed us into His image when He made us a new creation.
Resistance to the wisdom of the Bible is resistance to Christ Himself. One cannot be born again and hate hearing the Word of God.
When we are born again we feel what God feels, we love what God loves and we want what He wants.
1 Corinthians 2:15-16 "…15 The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.
16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ."
Do you want to be cleansed from your sin, do you want to think with the mind of Christ? The answer is simple, believe in Christ and He will change you into a new creation. Do not think you can change yourself, you cannot. Ask the Lord to change you into a new creation, but He will only do it if you are sorry you are a sinner and want Him to make you new.
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
2 Corinthians 5:16-18 "…16 So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:…"
Remember the fool who will not listen to truth as described above? These fools will not be saved from hell. The more they hear truth the more hardened their heart becomes. Do not be one of these fools who harden their heart.
John 12:39-40, For this reason, they were unable to believe. For again, Isaiah says: 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”
When someone continues to harden their heart when they hear the gospel eventually God will turn them over to it and they will not be able to see or understand. This is a frightening place to be for any person.
Hebrews 3:15 "15 As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.”
Those who have heard are responsible to obey, resisting only further hardens the heart until there is no longer any opportunity. No man knows exactly when their heart has been turned over to hardening but the possibility remains and God does know. Do not be one who is turned over to his/her rebellion without the possibility of ever being saved.
Ephesians 4:18
"18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;"
You might ask: "Does God really harden someone's heart?" The answer is yes He does. Let's take a look at the Pharaoh who pursued the Jews when God allowed them to be released.
Exodus 8:32 "32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time as well, and he would not let the people go."
Exodus 9:12 "12But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said to Moses."
You might ask which is true, did Pharaoh harden his own heart or did God do it? The answer is that Pharaoh hardened his heart each time he was chastised by God so God simply turned him over to what he wanted, that was a hard heart.
Sometimes God does turn us over to our sinfulness even when it will destroy us.
Psalm 94:22-23 …22 But the LORD has been my stronghold, and my God is my rock of refuge. 23 He will bring upon them their own iniquity and destroy them for their wickedness. The LORD our God will destroy them."
God often allows the sins of rebellious people to be their own punishment. There are times when God says "fine, you want your sin I will turn you over completely to it and it will destroy you."
Jeremiah 2:19-20 "19 Your own evil will discipline you; your own apostasies will reprimand you. Consider and realize how evil and bitter it is for you to forsake the LORD your God and to have no fear of Me,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts."
Wicked men who refuse to repent will not get away with anything, God is watching. He desires to cleanse the sinner but if they continually resist the discipline He sends He will turn them over to their own evil and they would not be able to repent He removes any conscience from them that might cause repentance.
There are also times when God tells Christians to stop praying for someone who has been rebellious for long periods of time. He knows the heart of these people, He knows they will not turn.
Isaiah 1:14-16 "…14 I hate your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.16 Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!…"
Often in our country today rebellious people go to church gatherings doing church their own way that does not have the blessing of God. The people are prideful because they attend but their heart remains wicked and self-exalting.
Matthew 15:7-8 "…7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ ”…"
Isaiah 29:13-14 "13 Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.14Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”…"
The apostate churches today are full of pretenders, scoffers, mockers, and sin-loving people who have never been born again. May the Lord prick their hearts with a conviction that they might be saved before He comes for His church.
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