Did you ever have an event that you wanted to see or be a part of only
to miss it. I am not one for high school reunions, but I remember when
my 30th year high school reunion was coming up. I thought that it would
be interesting to attend so I sent in the registration form stating that
I would attend. The weekend before the event, I once again looked over
the invitation but to my surprise the reunion was taking place that very
moment. I had inadvertently placed in my mind, is was in one more
week. Well, I was wrong and I missed the reunion. Needless to say I
make it a point not to repeat the same mistake again.
This brings me to my point. How many times have we placed within our
mind something that we thought was truth but in fact it was contrary to
it (the thing is, we did not know it at the time). Maybe some pastor or
other church leader had presented what they believed was true but it
could not be substantiated by the Bible. Maybe it was something that the
mainline church has accepted as truth for years or even centuries but
we cannot find chapter and verse to prove that it is so. Honestly, this
happens all to often and continues to plague Christians with much
misunderstanding of the the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit.
Hosea says it this way, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." (Hosea 4:6) Another version of the Bible says it this way, "My people are destroyed because they don't know me..."
This is certainly a sad commentary that God says that His people do not
know Him and therefore suffer because of it. This is a prophecy
concerning Israel but it is an unfortunate reality today. Look at what
the apostle Paul states concerning the church and Israel, (for the sake
of space I will narrow the scripture to the point) "Now these things
became our examples...Now all these things happened to them as examples,
and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the
ages have come." (1 Corinthians 10:6-11) In other words, the things
that Israel did or failed to do were written for the church so that we
do not repeat their failures. But it is apparent that Hosea's prophecy
(Hosea 4:6) is as real today as it was when it was spoken.
Today, many Christian leaders in colleges, universities and local
churches are inoculating people with philosophies and psychology that
have nothing to do with the knowledge of God. Many doctrines that the
church still embraces are from the Mosaic economy, the Dark Ages or the
old wine skin of the Protestant Reformation. Every now and then they are
tweeted to make them seem like truth, but if we have to adjust doctrine
then the chances are it is false doctrine. One example of many,
concerns God's will, especially when it comes to healing. A great
segment of the church does not believe that God heals today like He did
in the early church. Many others believe that healing is entirely up to
God, meaning that if He wants to heal, He will, if not, He won't.
The problem with this type of teaching, is that it is not found in the
Bible. It is the product of church leaders lacking in understanding
God's true nature, character, will, purposes and plan. It is a lack of
knowledge that only comes by way of the Spirit by exercising faith.
When I talk about faith, I mean the Bible or God kind of faith that
comes from the heart, not the mystical kind of faith that comes from the
head nor the natural kind of faith that comes from the senses. The only
way to operate and understand true Bible faith is to do as Jesus did, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:4) We must live on God's every Word.
This means letting go of mans wisdom, your own personal reasoning and
using your senses to understand the things of the Spirit. The apostle
Paul says it this way, "The natural man does not receive the things
of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14) Paul
is not only referring to those who are spiritually dead, but he is also
addressing Christians who are carnal. You cannot expect to know the
things of God through the natural mind. Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63) We can only discern or understand spiritual things through the Spirit which requires true Bible faith.
So, if we do not want to miss the wonderful things that God has for His children, then we must come to grips with what faith really
is and shed all of the doubts that have been entertained in the mind.
We must embrace God's Word with all of our heart. We must "...believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) and remember, "God
is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should
repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He
not make it good? (Numbers 23:19)
