"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. "But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." John 3:19-21
Jesus held nothing back when He spoke to the Pharisaical ones. He was not pleasant with them and He did not mince about with words. He told them exactly what He thought of them and where they stood with God. He called them all sort of things including vipers and snakes and said to them:
"Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. "But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. John 8:43-45
The last thing that deceived ones want to know is the truth. Why? Because their deeds are evil and they do not want to come to the light lest their deeds be exposed. Less others may clearly see that their deeds have not been done in God. Many redemptionists teach us that God came to save everybody through the proclamation of the good news of the gospel. But Jesus never went the extra mile to convince or convert a Pharisaical one. As a matter of fact Jesus said on this subject:
And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains. John 9:39-41
The word of God teaches us that God has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts and turn to God so that He should heal them. God’s word records:
But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”
Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them." These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. John 12:37-43
In Jesus day and even in our day not many Pharisaical ones were converted. Primarily because of arrogance and pride and desire for the praise of men rather than a real desire for God and all that He has to offer. Many only want what God has to offer as long as it suits their hidden agendas for riches, prosperity and fame. But as soon as suffering and persecution arises because of God and His word they pull back and create a theology to justify their comfort zone.
One of the great causes of deceivment is a rejection of God’s truth and light in any area. The automatic consequence is that darkness and deceivment comes in. Slowly an inch might as well be a mile for the person for he or she putting other things as primary importance be it doctrines rather than Jesus and the Father. God’s word states:
Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. "And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
"And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him-the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. John 12:44-49
It is the words of Jesus that He speaks by the command of the Father which are important and not those of men. This is some thing that many chose not to appreciate nor understand. For it’s the words and things that the Holy Spirit makes real and gives life to which are important. For God’s word is true:
"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:13
But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you 1 John 2:27
Anything that is not taught or checked with the Holy Spirit becomes a liability and not an asset and could have some serious negative consequences to that person. Sincerity and presumption are no friends of those who go through a red light at a busy intersection. There must be a real willingness to check all things with the Holy Spirit and reject anything that does not confirm with His words. Again God’s word is true:
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
"You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? '"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
"But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Matthew 7:13-29
The bottom line is that storms of life will come to every one to test and see if the person has heard the words of Jesus and has done them. Those who are left standing after the storm are God’s true ones and those who have fallen are false ones. Each person makes a choice whether to act on the word of God that is spoken by the Holy Spirit or not. Those who do not act are only deceived ones. Apostle James clearly instructed the children of God:
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. James 1:22-25
Now Jesus taught on how it is possible to become deceived by having a bad eye which results from serving God and mammon:
"The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. "But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? "
Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:22-34
Spiritual blindness and deceivement comes from the love of money, prominence and fame and not being faithful with what has been entrusted to God’s own for good stewardship. Jesus stated:.
"So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
"Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? "And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?
"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Luke 16:8-15
God is not fooled by any one and He knows the hearts of men including the pharisaical ones even in the house of God. People get deceived because they chose the love of money over the love of God and being faithful. They literally end up departing from the faith they once had as a result of it. For God’s word is true:
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:9-10
Those who love money and desire to be rich fall into temptation and snares of different kinds. Seeking and doing true justice, righteousness and truth, having integrity and obeying God’s commandments given by the Holy Spirit are subjected to a secondary consideration while personal profit becomes the primary goal. This is something that King Saul did when he disobeyed the word of God to go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they had , and not to spare them. But he was to kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.' God’s word records:
And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt. He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. 1 Samuel 15:7-9
As a result God greatly regretted that He had set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following God , and had not performed His commandment. After the battle Saul went to Carmel, to set up a monument for himself when prophet Samuel confronted Saul and said,
"What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" And Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed."
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak on." So Samuel said, "When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel? "Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.' "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?"
And Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 1 "But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal."
Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king." 1 Samuel 15:16-23
Saul for the love of prominence, riches and fame rejected the word of the Lord and was rejected by the Lord from being king. His end was worse than His beginning as the Lord turned His face from Saul. God replaced him with a better man with a man after His own heart who would listen to His voice and obey His commands. Nevertheless God’s word is true:
"The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? , the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:9-10
If anyone has an ear, let him hear Revelations 13:9
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. Revelation 22:14
WALTER KAMBULOW
FACEBOOK:
WALT KAM
Gods Will Is Healing http://goo.gl/bSrmc http://www.scribd.com/doc/12404063/
MINISTERING GOD AND HIS GIFTS http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-GZ
God Hears And Answers Prayers http://goo.gl/l62Q0 http://www.scribd.com/doc/12779089/
The Effective, Fervent Prayer http://goo.gl/NRZMa http://www.scribd.com/doc/19706617
The All Sufficient Christ http://goo.gl/4QgB4
Gordon
Williams http://gordwilliams.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment