Peace, Peace!

Are you an informed Christian? Are you properly informed of the word of God? Are you properly informed of what is going on with the candidates running for President?

Do you have ears to hear? Do you have eyes to see? Are you able to discern spirits and read between the lines or are you silly and gullible and unable to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3: 6, 7) ?

Can you apply the Scriptures below to what is being said about foreign policy? Do you think deals can be negotiated with all groups? Do you think people tied in with Hamas are going to negotiate or negotiate honestly? Pride can blind people and make them think they can even negotiate with the devil.

Jeremiah 6: 14 They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly (superficially), saying ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace.

Jeremiah 8: 11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly (superficially), Saying, Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace.

Ezekiel 13: 10 Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace-

1 Thessalonians 5: 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.

 

 

                                                 

 

 

      

Removing Ignorance and Confusion About the Sovereignty of God

God is Sovereign! That is an undisputable truth. He is not a Sovereign; He is the Sovereign of the universe. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the power above all powers and the authority above all authorities.

Where then is the ignorance and confusion about God’s sovereignty? Among Christians, especially many evangelicals, the ignorance and confusion about God’s sovereignty primarily concern the will of God. They wrongly equate that because of God’s sovereignty His will takes place in all things. For example, earlier this week I heard an evangelical explain that regardless of how anyone votes God would decide who becomes President of the United States. He said that he and others could vote for the one that God wanted, but if the one they voted for didn’t make it to the general election the one that God wanted would be elected. He even said that he could stay home and not vote and the one God wants would be elected.

Those Christians who believe things like this are at present ignorant and confused about what the word of God says concerning the sovereignty of God. There will come a time when only the will of our sovereign God is done, but we are not yet living in that time. At some time in the future Satan and all his followers will be put away forever. From that time forward only the will of God will be done forever and ever.

God has a will and He wants His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. That is why Jesus taught us to pray Thy will be done… God wants a people on earth who want to do His will in all things, but we still have an adversary who wants his will to be done on earth. That adversary, the devil, has demonic forces and human forces that are determined to do his will and thwart the will of God. That my friends is where we are. So what do we do?

A good question! I am going to be teaching about God’s will for us on earth. We are in a spiritual war that is not primarily with human forces. We are in a spiritual war with Satan and his demonic forces. Satan does have many humans who have chosen to side with him, but our main war is with unseen forces. So put on your spiritual armor, take up the sword of the Spirit and let’s wage war.

 Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before! Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; Forward into battle, see His banner go! Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before!

Ignorance of Scripture

Ignorance of Scripture is rampant among many preachers and Christians, including many evangelicals. It is very evident at present in relationship to governmental officials and voting.

Ignorance of Scripture is causing many Christians to wrongly divide the word of God rather than rightly divide it. This results in Christians making wrong choices, wrong decisions and supporting people who are enemies of Jesus Christ, His kingdom, His righteousness and His people.

This is nothing new! Regretfully it has been repeated over and over throughout history. For example, many preachers and Christians in Germany were complicit in the actions of Hitler because of their ignorance of Scripture. At present we have preachers and Christians that would have done the same if they had lived in the days of Hitler. I can just hear some of them saying “Hitler is a class act”. Yes, he was a class act controlled from Satan’s headquarters.

All Scripture has to be rightly divided!  A major part of rightly dividing Scripture is to always put it in the right context. Can you rightly divide and properly apply the Scriptures below? There are many preachers and Christians who can’t.

Romans 13: 1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

Romans 13: 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God. And those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

James 4: 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Titus 3: 1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work.

Acts 5: 29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: We ought to obey God rather than men.

Note: If you are a true student of the Holy Spirit, let Him guide you into all truth. He is the Teacher! Too many preachers are regurgitating the junk that they learned from some theological professor or religious organization, rather than humbly submitting to the Holy Spirit and teaching only truth. Too many Christians are regurgitating the junk that they have learned from these preachers. Humility and repentance! Preachers, regardless of your age you can still paint a picture of truth that will equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Let’s bring forth salt and light that overcomes decay and darkness!

See the Problem and Deal With It

There are some Christians that see and see with concern the problems with the world, but at present there are few Christians who see that our major problem is with the overall condition of the church. We will never make much headway with the problems of the world until there is a faithful remnant church that has Christ formed within and in the unity of the faith is seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

 

There cannot be a faithful remnant church that releases the needed salt and light until enough Christians see the need and respond accordingly. Until this takes place darkness will continue to spread because of the lack of salt and light coming forth from the church.

 

I have seen some evidence recently that shows that a few Christians are beginning to see that our major problem is the overall condition of the church. It is encouraging that they are beginning to see the need for restoration of the church, but it remains to be seen if they know what to do and more importantly are willing to do it. Pride, stubbornness, spiritual competitiveness, tradition, timidity, relationships, etc. all stand in the way. Humility, obedience to the Spirit and boldness are needed!