Steve's
Yarns-- All those years growing up and living in Oklahoma, California, Arizona,
Texas, and Africa..... Ain't done growing up 'til I get over on the other side
:-)
THE
MIGHTY GOD, THE EVERLASTING FATHER, THE KING OF KINGS
Our
God is a consuming fire. Many Christians have a fluffy harmless god who is
not the God of the Bible.
By
Steve Van Nattan
THE
MIGHTY GOD
Psalms
113:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of
the LORD. 2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
3 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name
is to be praised. 4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above
the heavens. 5 Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, 6
Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!
7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the
dunghill; 8 That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his
people. 9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother
of children. Praise ye the LORD.
Who
is like unto the LORD our God?
Kenneth
"Copeless" Copeland claims that we are all little gods. Copeland hates
the truth that, "It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves."
That feels good to backslidden Charismatics who want to hear that they are just
like God. They soon lose their fear of God, and they get all fluffy and silly
about God and Jesus Christ. And, Charismatics are not the only ones. Many churches
and pastors are nothing but amusement parks where spiritual slobs can go and get
the rush. God is not in those places.
Worship
is all about me these days. Contemporary Christian Music is made up of love songs
sung to Jesus. And, he is seldom named by his biblical names. He is sung to as
"he", "you", and "friend". Jesus has a name, friend.
If you listen to this fluffy CCM you are dumbing down you relationship with your
God and Savior.
So,
where is the fear of God?
The
fear of God is a marketing gimmick of men's wear. SEE
IT HERE
Here
is the ultimate blasphemy. The song is in hard rock format, worthy of any night
club on Hollywood Blvd. And, the message is a mix of filth and Christian notions.
But, "He" is never given a name so that the song does not offend anyone,
not even a Muslim. I takes a bold lack of fear of God to sing this song. SEE
IT HERE
WHAT
IS THE FEAR OF GOD?
Hebrews
10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense,
saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31 It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
God
will hold every one of us to account for how close we follow his Son, Jesus Christ.
And, when God looks at you, a local church, and a whole nation, he is quite willing
to put everyone of us in terror of his wrath if that is all that will get our
attention.
1
Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God:
and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel
of God?
Hebrews
12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace,
whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For
our God is a consuming fire.
If
you will live in verse 28, you will not be visited by the God of consuming fire
in verse 29. There is a teaching that, while true, is used to give Christians
an immunity to the fear of God. Consider.....
2
Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of
God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God hath not given
us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8 Be
not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner:
but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of
God;
Context,
context, context, my dear dim bulb.
Verse
7 is locked into the context of the ongoing teaching. Verse 7 tells us that our
fear of persecution and disapproval does not come from God. We will get attacked
for teaching the whole counsel of God. But, we are given love, power, and a sound
mind so that we can boldly (Verse 6) stir up our gift and use it to glorify God,
and (Verse 8) shamelessly testify for Christ and partake willingly in the affliction
of persecution and rejection. THAT is all this text teaches. It does NOT teach
that the fear of God is not part of our experience as believers in Christ.
When
you get near the edge of a cliff, you get the creepy crawlies. Why? God gave you
the sense of fear so that you would instinctively want to preserve your life.
Fear is a friend when we come to danger. We were also created with an adrenal
gland that blasts our body with two instincts.....
First,
we briefly freeze and consider when we confront chaos or shocking signals to our
senses.
Second,
the brain slaps the adrenal gland telling it to excrete cortisol, and that sends
our whole body into what is called flight or fight mode.
We
are out walking in the wilderness. We come around a bend in the path, and there,
coiled up and staring at us is a rattle snake. We stop suddenly, register what
the danger is, and in fear we either attack the snake or we run from it. Unless
we had already gotten a working fear of rattle snakes, we would not react and
might get bitten and die. Pull a gun on a cop, and he will go through the same
process and soon shoot you. Smart people don't cause chaos and fight and flight
scenes.
Fear
has served us all from time to time. If my Dad not not had a rather deep serviceable
fear of the Japanese Kama Kazi soldiers (who attacked in a suicide rage) I would
have never had a Daddy while I was growing up.
But,
there is something far more deadly than a rattle snake..... it is called God.
The Bible is loaded with stories about the fate of people that lost their fear
of God.
Do
you teach your children this truth? Or has some jerkwater preacher convinced you
that any sort of fear is a sign of a lack of faith? Do you pastors teach this
in your pulpit? Or, is it too hash to introduce the believers to fear God? Is
teaching a child this verse a form of abuse? It is time to decide if you really
love the God of consuming fire.
Well,
this God you avoid teaching about said that he wants your children to fear him.
Read it again please.
Deuteronomy
5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep
all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children
for ever!
If
you do not teach your children to fear God, plan on watching them be sent to Hell
at the judgment day before God in Heaven. Knowing God, AND FEARING HIM, is where
salvation always starts.
Proverbs
9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the
holy is understanding.
John
3:16 is a joke to the man who does not fear God.
THE
FIRST MENTION OF THE FEAR OF GOD
If
you think that I am obligated to make the fear of God a warm cozy experience,
you are dead wrong. The principle in the Bible of first mention is very powerful
in this discussion. It was not a happy moment in human history, neither for God
nor for his children.
Genesis
3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant
to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;
and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they
heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day:
and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst
the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto
him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and
I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
When
Adam sinned, he hid from God. There is something to be said for this. The fear
that kept Adam from God was better than not fearing God at all. Far better that
he hides from God, than that he walks about in the garden as if nothing was wrong.
At least he knows his sin is a problem, and God has a starting point from which
to save his sinful soul!
Modern
mega church Christianity has NO fear of God. Joel Osteen and Rick Warren intentionally
avoid talking about the God of consuming fire. We can, without error, assume that
the people populating these mega churches have no fear of God. So they do not
hide from God. They go merrily on their way in deep sin, and they cling to their
counterfeit warm fluffy god. AND, they will all burn in Hell.
Only
the wicked, and mega church members, have no fear of God. They thus have nothing
to drive them to God in repentance when they backslide into sin. They go cheerfully
along, secure in the lies of their false prophet of a pastor, seeing themselves
as the lucky focus of a stupid Santa Claus god.
Fear
drives us, first to hide from God, and then fear drives us to Calvary for cleansing
from sin.
Fathers
who shield their children from fearing God will have spoiled brats one day, shuffling
around with their trousers hanging down and consumed with lust for sex. Pastors
who refuse to make the fearful God the center of their teaching will have slop
hog churches filled with spiritual spoiled brats. Mark it down, neighbor.....
Preachers who do not preach the fear of God are bedding down women in the church,
molesting children, or chasing faggots in the dark.
What
we are asking is, how much do you really love God? You see, in the Bible we learn
that love and fear are good friends. One goes with the other. That is not how
we think commonly. We see love as the opposite of fear.
1
John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because
fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
So,
you see, the way we please this God who is a consuming fire is to intensely love
him. Not only is this a thing we SHOULD do, it is what God helps us to do. He
gives us the love for him if we let him.
God
walked around the garden of Eden looking for Adam and Eve. He loved them, and
he missed them. God had lost the fellowship with them that he craved as their
creator. That is why he set about to get back that fellowship through the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross. God had to arrange for the payment
for sin so that we could love him in the way Adam and Eve did before they fell.
If
you shelter yourself, your family, and your church from fear of the God of consuming
fire, it is obvious that you DO NOT love him. Nor do you love your family or Christ's
Church. Your fluffy soft puppy god be damned. He is a fake god, and he will take
you straight to Hell.
Save
yourself some trouble Sunday morning..... Go buy a yellow rubber ducky, and Sunday
morning get a cup of coffee, go out on the patio, sit down, and squeeze your rubber
ducky until it squeaks. The squeak of the ducky is more communication than you
will ever hear from your fluffy mega church god.
Psalms
130:4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
If
the only kind of fear was a bad kind, this verse would say, “With you there is
forgiveness; therefore you are not feared.” Since you are a God who forgives,
we don’t need to fear you any more. We can forget about fear and focus on love.
This
is what thousands of pastors teach every Sunday morning. They claim that you are
forgiven by God, so you do not have to fear God anymore. You just read it. Once
you are forgiven, you embark on a life of fear, that is, fear of God. Why does
God tell us this in the above verse?
Answer:
Those who are forgiven of their sins are given fear of God so that they will not
go back into sin and disgrace themselves and bring shame on the God who saved
them. God wants his children to be afraid of opting back into sin. God told Adam
and Eve that they would die if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. God gave them every opportunity to fear his wrath if they disobeyed, but
they did just that. This means that if you have been born again, and if you are
living in some shameful sin in your life, your only hope it to fear God and repent.
Psalms
2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a
little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
"Rejoice
with trembling"..... this is the balance between love of God and fear of
God. John Newton said rightly in his famous hymn: "Twas grace that taught
my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved." The fear of God drives us
to Calvary, and once cleansed of sin there, we leave behind our mongrel human
fear and walk in loving fear of God. You see, fearing God is part of loving him.
When
Emperor Heile Salassie walked about in the capital of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, people
would drop down and kiss the ground as he walked by. This reverence of their king
was driven out of their love for him. His people thought of him as their father
and friend because of all the good he did. When he traveled by car to some event,
and if he came on a wedding tent pitched beside the highway, as was the custom
there, Heile Salassie would order the driver to stop, and he would go into the
tent and pay his respects to the bride and groom. He might even eat a couple of
bites from the wedding feast. While the groom, and all the men bowed deep before
him, they loved him because of his generous and kind ways with them. Yet, Heilie
Salassie, when someone decided to mock or annoy him, would have them arrested
and brought to him. He would give them two choices..... Go to prison for life,
or join the Army and become a guard at a water hole in the desert for the rest
of their life. They would always choose to be the guard, but they also learned
to again fear the Emperor. Those who feared the Emperor and loved him lived a
happy life.
The
photo is of Heile Salassie returning to Ethiopia from exile after the British
ran the Italians out of Ethiopia. He has his foot on an Italian dud bomb that
did not go off. Testosterone!
Do
you love God enough to fear him?
2
Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal,
The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of
Christ depart from iniquity.
NINE
FALSE GODS I HAVE FOUND IN SICK "CHRISTIAN" CHURCHES
All
of the following gods are promoted by pastors and preachers in some allegedly
Christian churches. I ask that you understand that my editorial in this section
is ALL satire and sarcasm. The Apostle Paul used sarcasm as a teaching tool, so
I believe I am in good company.
1.
FLUFFY RUBBER DUCKY GOD
Squeeze
the rubber ducky god, and he squeaks. He can come in the form of a fluffy cuddly
teddy bear also. He is a security blanket which keeps you company and makes no
demands on you. When you worship in his churches, he gives you a rush, comparable
to a high on LSD. His leaders never say anything to make you uncomfortable, and
his preachers never are asked by this god to show you that you may be a sinner.
What is even more exciting is that many of his churches have Starbucks counters.
He is a god for any rebellious self-indulgent slob to love. And, he is the god
who is dedicated to amuse you and give you the warm fuzzies.
2.
GOD THE CASH COW
This
god is a Las Vegas slot machine that pays back every time you pull his handle.
This
god is often called the "name it and claim it" god, or the "blab
it and grab it" god. He promises that if you lay cash on his church house
leaders, this god will cover you also with gold. If you play the game, and if
this god fails to pay back as promised, his preachers will tell that that this
is because you did not have enough faith. Some church members have gone bankrupt
trying to play the game with enough faith.
The
cool thing about this god is that his churches also encourage you to laugh your
fool head off in the god's face in a manner reminiscent of the laughter found
in a mental hospital. You may also jabber in the secret languages of Satan's devils,
and you will be elevated to honor for it. This is the god who gives you all the
special effects found at a drunken brawl, but without getting a DUI ticket on
the way home.
Sadly,
there are Baptist churches which worship the cash cow god. Their pastors teach
that if you tithe faithfully, god is obligated to give you a monetary rebate on
your giving. This could also be known as the ROI god. They have a couple of favorite
verses they use to prove their claims, like this one:
2
Corinthians 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly;
and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
The
picture of sewing seed was given to us by Jesus himself in the parable of the
sower sewing seed (Luke 8). The seed is the Gospel, not money. The sower did not
waste time trying to avoid seed falling on poor soil. The lesson is that we should
spread the Gospel everywhere, and those that respond will reward us with fruit
for our service to Christ.
The
text in 2 Corinthians is indeed talking about giving financially to needy saints.
But, reaping in that text is NOT all about cash back or rebates from God. Our
reaping is almost always in seeing God give us some special blessing in life.
Like, someone got saved, we got the job we applied for, we recovered from some
illness. When a Baptist preacher associates a Return On Investment with our giving,
the bastard son is intruding on the will of God for the saints.
Another
false doctrine the cash cow god's gurus teach is that all your giving must be
into the offering plate at the church house you attend. If you lay aside part
of your giving money to help a homeless man, or to take a poor widow out for a
steak dinner, you are wicked. This god's cash must all run through the fingers
of the pastor and be sent where he chooses.
You
are wandering through the Goodwill Store looking for bargains, and a Hispanic
mother with a baby and young son in tow, comes along. The son picks up a toy on
the rack, and he says, "Mommy, can I have this truck?" Mommy says, "Not
this time Lalo. Maybe we can afford it next time." Lalo accepts the answer
and returns the toy. You check it after they move on, and it is priced at five
dollars. So, you take the tuck and a five dollar bill to the mother, and you ask
if you can help Lalo pay for it. She says, "We don't need help, sir. Thank
your anyway." So, you tell her you are not doing this because you thought
she was poor. You say, "I am a Bible believing Christian, and the Bible tells
me to be generous to all men. So, I do not do all my giving at the church house.
This is my way of obeying the Bible,
and I would be very blessed if you let me help pay for the truck for Lalo."
She smiles, and says, "I see what you are doing. I would be happy to let
you buy the truck for Lalo." Before you head for the check out, you squat
down on Lalo's level, and you say, "Lalo, I am buying this truck for you
because I love Jesus, and Jesus loves children like you. Will you some day help
some other kid buy a toy and be a blessing to someone." Lalo promises to
do so, and as you rise to head for the front, the mother, with tears running down
her cheeks, says, "That is so beautiful. May God and the blessed Virgin bless
you." You planted some seed, and you get the truck to Lalo later and head
out the door of the store. Your soul is singing, and you can almost hear the Lord
Jesus audibly saying, "Well done, my son. You did that to the child, but
you were doing it to me." This story is not fiction. Whenever I think of
Lalo, I get tears in my eyes, and I pray someone will water, and someone will
take the harvest one day. The pastor who tries to tell you this is disobedient
giving is a bastard son.
Do
you see the terrible lack of the fear of God in the preachers who promote this
cash cow god?
This
God is very angry with you. He is presented by his preachers as poised to blow
you straight to Hell any minute. He is found in both Charismatic and Baptist habitats.
The Charismatics teach you that this god, contrary to the promises found in the
Bible, is ever ready to snatch your salvation back from you.
In
the Baptist habitat this angry god is brought to you duing the altar call, when
the preacher asks you if you are REALLY sure you were ever born again. He then
asks you to "walk the aisle just to be sure you are saved." He also
dangles you over the flames of Hell to jar you loose, even though you have confessed
your faith several times before and been told by the preacher that you are now
born again.
This
god is also found in the Catholic Church habitat where he threatens you with half
a century in Purgatory if you don't pay for Masses and Novenas galore.
4.
THE CHAIN OR COMMAND GOD
This
god is found mainly in the Catholic Church. His preachers teach you that this
god is way too busy and distracted by being mighty and powerful to let you come
into his presence in prayer or worship. You are also taught that someone else
is on hand to make sure your prayers and confession of sin gets through the chain
of command to this god. This god will only listen to his Son, Jesus. And, Jesus,
because he is terribly busy, will only listen to his mother, Mary. And, Mary will
only listen to the Catholic priest who is ever eager to forgive your sins on the
god's behalf and send your prayers on to Mary up the command. Mary is said to
be always paying attention to you, while Jesus is awfully busy and distracted
by being God the Son to listen to you.
The
other place where the chain of command god is found is in Baptist churches. The
command line is a bit shorter and perhaps not as cumbersome. You are told by the
preacher, "You follow me, and I will follow Jesus." This is to give
you the alleged comfort to know that your pastor is thoughtfully watching for
your soul and always ready to nag and nanny you on behalf of Jesus. You are pointedly
told, in some Baptist chruches, that you do not have to follow Jesus as long as
you submit to your pastor. And, if you fail to do this, you will be "churched,"
which is a strange use of the word church describing the pastoral art of excommunication.
5.
THE DISTRACTED GOD
This
is the god of churches called Episcopal, United Methodist, Congregational, Anglican,
Unity, Christian, some Presbyterian, American Baptist, and a few others. These
churches have a very liberal doctrine, but their liberalism is not extended to
the task of preaching the whole Bible literally. They tell you that the distracted
god does not care enough about your adultery, sodomy, and perversions to let it
bother him much. You are told to make your own set of rules for moral and social
behavior and to love yourself immensely. Meanwhile, the distracted god is sitting
back admiring your pretty spare woman or chuckling at your sodomite partner. The
distracted god also did not create Hell, and he would never send anyone there,
even though the Bible says he will send anyone to Hell who blasphemes his truth.
The distracted god does not expect much out of you, and you need not let his presence
in the universe bother you. You must never let yourself fear this god.
One
man's take on this babbling bungling god. "Their God, it seems, is an
inarticulate and confused old bastard who has to rely on his creations to figure
out and explain exactly what his words mean and policies should be. Liken it to
a ninety-eight year old senile CEO of a company who is kept locked in his office
by the Board of Directors who translate his babble into whatever the Board wants
it to mean to the share holders."
6.
GOD THE CRAP SHOOTER
Shooting
craps is a gambling game using dice. This god is a dice tossing god.
This
god was invented by a fellow from Alsace Lorraine, in Northern France, named John
Calvin, who was a drop out from the law profession. Calvin discerned that the
common church member had no idea who god was or how the god rescued people from
their sin. So, he wrote many volumes of law codes, with penalties attached for
legality, to help you understand how the crap shooting god functions. After all,
it is impossible to understand the Christian religion without absorbing all the
legal language and arguments of men called theologians. Calvin encouraged you
to ignore the Bible and memorize his five points and all the clever big theological
legal terms in his writings. Ownership of Calvin's Commentary is easily ten times
more helpful than owning a Bible.
This
god sat on his throne, long before he created the world and people, and he looked
down the corridors of time and picked out whom he wanted to end up in his Heaven.
He, by default, also picked those who would go to Hell. The problem is, the Bible
nowhere says that the God of the Bible ever chose anyone to go to Hell.
But,
since you were born into a Reformed family (Dutch Reformed, Lutheran, Presbyterian,
Anglican, or Reformed Baptist) you were "in the covenant" by genetically,
and the crap shooting god is stuck with you. Your genetic religious connections
trumped the god into letting you into Heaven. All you need is to learn the answers
to the catechism questions, and the consistory or elders will declare you one
of the elect. The god is then stuck with you. And, after all, "you are not
much if you are not Dutch." If you neglect to ever openly confess Jesus Christ
before unconverted lost sinners, well never mind, if the god wants them, he will
get them. And, furthermore, why should you give the Gospel to people who are not
elect and chosen by the god? What a waste, and what a distraction to the poor
sinner who is doomed to Hell without hope.
The
crap shooting god will give you total immunity from having to win souls and hand
our Gospel tracts like the superstitious Baptists and Pentecostals do. You have
the secret apologetic for sitting on your butt and doing nothing for Jesus.
7.
THE GOD OF THE BED CHAMBER
This
god is brought to the church by a baby beating guru named Mike Pearl. In his teaching,
he tells you that when you and your spouse are enjoying sexual pleasure, you should
make it the highest form of worship in your life. By making copulation a sacred
act, you are sent down the path of making sexuality the most exalted part of your
life. This can then lead, as some of the other leaders of the copulation god cult
have shown us, to eventually having sexual worship with persons not your spouse.
In teaching this religion to your children, you may even get the sacred rush out
of dirtying the mind of your kids. The only problem you will have with this god
is when one of your sons holds a rip snorting revival service with a girl he has
not married to, gets her pregnant, and you have to clean up the mess of that worship
service. For that purpose, there is a manly camp in North Carolina where you can
send your son and get him morally rehabilitated. The girl is sent to Kansas, back
on the farm, to have the baby away from the prying eyes of your church family.
Another
blessing from the Pearl version of god is that he wants your wife, gentlemen,
to worhip YOU. No need for her to bother herself with Jehovah God. She needs only
you.
This
is the god of the Charismatic Movement and all other churches following hard on
the heels of a man named Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609). He was mad at John Calvin
(see above), and Jacobus came up with an alternative god to the cold hearted god
of Calvin. The god of Jacobus teaches you that he was sound asleep in eternity
past and had no idea that you might one day be confronted with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. The god of Jacobus gave you free will so that you have absolute control
over your destiny, and no one ever elected you to salvation. This god is under
orders by his preachers to lay hands off of your life and let you work it out
on your own. Anything you get from the god will be by your permission. The
rub is, if this god decides you have gotten too far off the path he would like
for you, he can simply throw you into Hell. So, this god has the last word after
all. It is just that this god is not allowed to get ahead of the game and plan
your life for you according to his good pleasure.
The
problem comes when it is time for the god's preachers to answer the question,
"Pastor, have I sinned enough to lose my salvation?" There is no standard
in the Bible by which to determine exactly at what point you have sinned enough
to lose your salvation. But, you can get your salvation back. All you have to
do is walk the aisle at the next opportunity, pray on the magic carpet at the
front of the church house, and plant some generous "seed faith" cash
in the offering plate. There is much assurance in giving this god your cash.
It
is a very curious thing that, ultimately, both the go-to-Hell god (Arminian),
and the crap shooting god (Calvinist) seem to accomplish the same thing. They
send people to Hell against their will. Both gods hate the following Bible teaching.....
2
Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness;
but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that
all should come to repentance.
Both
or these gods are "slack," meaning, they are too lazy or stupid to honor
the promise in the Bible they allegedly inspired. If you, by any chance, want
to follow the God of the Bible, I would suggest you ask the pastor of any church
you are considering if his doctrine is Arminian. If so, he serves the above god,
and he will try to help you lose your salvation.
9.
OUR LARD BALL FATHER
This
god is best seen doing his works as he helps your preacher blow up like a blimp
until he cannot see his toes. Gluttony is the principle gift of the spirit of
this god. Once you are fully sanctified and as big as your preacher, you are encouraged
to learn a set of one liners that justify your belly, like, "All the fat
belongeth to the Lord," and, "The bigger you are, the more god has to
love." The first commandment of this god is, "Blessed are those who
take seconds. They shall be a big blessing and bust more chairs." The second
commandment is like unto it, "If there is a desert left at the church dinner,
give it to the 400 pound lard ball deacon to make sure he has a heart attack next
week." Never again will you have to be content with just one Big Mac. The
greatest spiritual blessing of this god is found at any all-you-can-eat restaurant.
One
preacher I knew, who was enormous with sloppy fat, told me, "I have a metabolism
problem that makes me gain weight no matter what I do to lose weight." A
couple of weeks later I was going into MacDonalds to get a cup of coffee, and
there sat the preacher..... with two Big Macs in front of him with a shy grin
on his face. The Lard Ball god was keeping the old boy rotund and hypocritical.
I
hope you see the point in the light of this article. Those who truly fear God
will not be found sitting at the feet of any preacher or guru who represents any
of the false gods above.
If
I missed any false gods found in churches you have attended, please SEND
MAIL, and tell me about them. I will add them to the list for sure. We would
not want to miss any of the false gods of modern Laodicean churches.
MUSICAL
EXAMPLE OF PEOPLE LOVING GOD ENOUGH TO FEAR HIM
LYRICS Open
the lyrics in another page and drag it to a second monitor so you can follow along.
If
that didn't charge your batteries, you are sound asleep.
SOME
BIBLE TEXTS ABOUT OUR MIGHTY GOD
John
1:1-12
John
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made
by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was
life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness;
and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose
name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light,
that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent
to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every
man that cometh into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was
made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his
own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Do
we have to believe this text to be born again and have eternal life? The answer
is found in John 20:30:
John
20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
This
is John's final verdict to you and every lost sinner. Believe all of "these"
or burn in Hell.
Virtually
all of "these" in the Gospel of John must be believed in order to be
saved or born again. You are not saved because you were talked down the aisle
of a local church by a preacher who, with clever words and threats, convinced
you to "come forward and make sure you are saved." Only people who believe
virtually every truth taught in the Gospel of John can be saved. You believe the
whole Word of God, or you will not have life. Hell is hot.
John,
in introducing the reader to the theme of his Gospel, exalts the God of Creation,
Jesus Christ. Calling him the Word, he parallels Genesis Chapters 1 through 3.
John tells us that everything that exists, which we see, and what we cannot see,
was spoken into existence by the Word, Christ. There is no life outside of his
will. There is no light other than his light.
Thus,
if you have ANY reservations as to the reality of Jesus Christ speaking the whole
universe into existence in six twenty four hour days, as Genesis defines our world
and us, then you are not born again, and you will go to Hell. These are written
that you might believe, and if you cannot believe one thing in the Gospel of John,
you are damned and lost. This is why if someone asks me about salvation, I send
them to read the Gospel of John. If they believe everything they read there, all
of it that they understand, they are born again and have life.
Why
is it important to exalt the mighty God, the God who is a burning fire, the God
who can damn unbelievers to Hell? The answer is, everything depends on meeting,
hearing about, and learning to love and be in awe of that God. Thousands of people
attend church every Sunday morning who have no fear of God. They are actually
practical Atheists. They will burn in Hell, preacher, if you do not help them
encounter the Mighty God as he is.
Verse
8 above teaches us that every man who comes into the world has light, and that
Light is Jesus Christ, the Word. I cannot tell you I understand the totality of
this thought, but we can start with the God-given conscience in all men. Our conscience
is unique to humans. We can see that we are innately driven by oughts and ought
nots, shoulds and should nots. Where did humans get a conscience? This question
should move us to see that it came from outside of us. The designer of humanity
put it there. Men generally hear their conscience and fail to ask where it came
from, so they totally miss the Light.
We
can also note the creation, with its grandeur and unexplainable order, which could
not exist for one minute longer without the perpetual attention of the original
designer. They see creation, and they decide it came into existence from nothing,
in which case they blaspheme the Light and take up the most unscientific explanation
possible. Man is a rebel, and he tends to reject the Light. Your job is to try
to convince him that there is another explanation, an epic of eternal and life-giving
consequences. You, if you are a Bible believer, are God's ambassador between himself
and the world of deluded and damned rebels.
Hebrews
10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
When
is the last time you made a serious effort to confront one of these lost sinners
with the fear of the Mighty God?
Psalms
68:35
Psalms
68:32 Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah:
33 To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo,
he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice. 34 Ascribe ye strength
unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds. 35
O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that
giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.
When
you ask for strength and power in your life, and as you do you work, you will
not get it from a soft spoken Hindu god who whispers sweet nothings in your ear.
You will get Donner und Blitz, thunder and lightning. This is the God who turned
over the twelve hundred pound stone tables in the temple porch in a holy rage.
This is the God who shouts a lot.......
Psalms
47:5 God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
Verse
35 above says God is terrible. This word in the Hebrew indicates fear, dread,
and reverence.
Psalms
66:5 Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children
of men.
Are
you pleased that you do not have a timid wimpy god?
Isaiah
8:13
Isaiah
8:13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him
be your dread.
Some
preachers and church members fear Satan a lot more then they fear God. Satan is
a fallen angel and a loser who is destined to spend eternity in Hell fire. Do
you fear God? If not, then we must assume you have not yet met him, and your confession
of faith in Christ may be counterfeit.
Orrie
Cockrane was a member of our local church in Michigan. He was a great blessing
to the saints, and his zeal to talk about Jesus and salvation was both bold and
tender hearted. I went for a ride one day with Orrie in his old Cadillac. He loved
old Cadillacs. Before we left his home, Orrie went into the garage and picked
an old electric motor out of a pile of junk and dropped it into the floor of the
car's back seat. Orrie said, "I need to get this motor fixed."
As
we traveled down a well maintained dirt road, Orrie got to talking about every
home we passed. "I witnessed to that guy, and he got saved and is a deacon
now at the Baptist church." "That guy told me he would think about the
Gospel, but he has been thinking too long." "I told that man he needed
to be born again, and he told me to go to Hell. But, I ain't goin' " said
Orrie with a big mischievous grin.
We
finally got to the motor repair shop which was in a garage behind a home. Orrie
took the motor into the man and asked him to clean it up and make any repairs
needed. Orrie talked briefly about Jesus to the man, and then he said he would
be back to get the motor later. The man was charmed by Orrie and smiled when Orrie
told him he was worried about him not knowing Jesus yet." As we drove away,
Orrie told me, "I've been working on that guy for quite a while. He listens
politely, but he will not give in. But, I will get him one of these days."
On
the way back to his home Orrie said something that startled me. "I have not
given the Gospel to the guy in that home there yet. I wonder if God is mad at
me for that." For all the love and tenderness for the lost by Orrie, he also
had a fear of God. He was not in a frenzy of paranoia about this fear. But, he
knew he could cause God to be angry with him, and that fear helped him determine
if he was pleasing God.
Do
you fear the God who saved you from Hell fire? If so, does you fear cause you
to roll over and pee on yourself like an old cur dog, or does your fear of God
drive you to get closer to him and do the works he has given to you?
Leviticus
9:23-24
Leviticus
9:23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came
out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.
24 And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar
the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and
fell on their faces.
Now,
on to the New Testament to see what sacrifice God wants from us.
Romans
12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every
man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think;
but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of
faith.
If
your body and soul are on the altar, and if you are serious about serving God,
he will consume you. When God consumes a man who rejects Jesus Christ, the consuming
is destruction and hellish. When God consumes one who has confessed Jesus Christ
as Savior, that consuming is an act of love by God. He will take care of your
zeal and works and make you a blessing to many people. But, if you are full of
yourself, and if you crave the approval and exaltation of other men, you are worthless
to God, and I have to believe he is angry at you.
I
went to a preacher's day of fellowship in a Fundamental Baptist church in the
Detroit area. When I walked into the foyer of the church before the meetings started,
a shortish stocky preacher was holding court in the middle of the foyer with a
circle of other preachers surrounding him. He was all affect and macho bluster.
When I see this sort of thing, I at once know I am looking at a proud man who
is full of himself..... a big blowhard. I was correct that day.
The
preacher was loudly bragging about the number of people who had "come forward"
at altar calls in his church. He went of to brag on how many baptisms he had done
since the last preacher's rally, and then on to the number of Sunday School buses
he had out roaming around on Sunday morning. The preacher was doing a splendid
job of being a power person and exalting himself, but he was worthless as tits
on a boar hog to God.
The
preacher was a fool. He may have preached many sermons on Romans chapter 12, but
he was a total failure at obeying Romans 12:3 above.
I
saw a rather common preacher standing over against the wall, a bit slumped, and
looking miserable. I joined him, and after some small talk, I asked him how his
ministry was going. He said nothing much was happening in his church. No souls
saved lately, and no new growth numerically. I asked him if his people were faithful,
and he said they were. I asked him if he was thinking of giving up, and he said
he thought he should keep on trying to pastor the church. I then told him that
it sounded like he was doing just fine. No church fights, and the people kept
coming to hear him teach the Word. I then told him that he was not expected by
God to do any more than that. All God wanted of him was to be faithful.
1
Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and
stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that
a man be found faithful.
God
NEVER measures your zeal by the numbers you get in. All he asks of you is to be
faithful with what he gave you. God did not call that preacher to be successful.
He called him to be faithful. I was delighted to see the preacher stand up, pull
his shoulders back, and he thanked me for the word of encouragement. At that point,
I suggested we walk on into the sanctuary and have a seat. I wanted the preacher
to get out of ear shot of the bull horn bastard son and his bragging that intimidated
the preacher. Bastard.......... too rough, you say? Check out Hebrews
12:8.
God
gets quite aggressive when one of his children starts exalting himself.
James
4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but
giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist
the devil, and he will flee from you.
Do
you want the most deadly adversary with whom to do combat? Really? Well, start
exalting yourself and decide you are the main attraction, and you will soon find
God is your adversary, And, what God can do to chasten you will make the worst
Satan can do pale in comparison.
It
is time to fear God.
"FEAR
OF GOD IS AN OLD TESTAMENT THING. WE HAVE PROGRESSED TO BETTER THINGS"
I
have heard blow hard Balaam preachers claim the only the Old Testament portrays
God as one to be feared.
Hebrews
12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace,
whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For
our God is a consuming fire.
We
receive a kingdom, not just Moses and Elijah. And, we live in godly fear of our
God, a consuming fire. The same God who finally put Samson in a Philistine prison,
after Sampson played the fool with the power God gave him, can consume you and
me if we walk away from fellowship with him and refuse to return. You cannot lose
your salvation, as some heretics claim, but you sure can have a big time out back
getting a whipping in God's wood shed.
The
graphic depicts Messiah Jesus Christ returning to reign over the whole earth in
his Second Advent. This is a future event, and this will not be "gentle Jesus,
meek and mild."
IF
YOU FEAR GOD, DO YOU PUT THE FEAR OF GOD INTO SINNERS YOU MEET?
You
are created in the image of God. Do you ever put the fear of God into the wicked?
The Aragon Ballroom Church has become a social club bowing to political correctness
and seeking to be rich and fun.
Psalms
7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
Why
is God so angry?
Answer:
Because man turns his creation into chaos, beginning in man's own heart. God intends
to restore order and win back his loving relationship with man. America, and many
other nations, are now in danger of tyranny. They are in danger of driving chaos
to its conclusion..... self-destruction and social suicide. That is just fine
with God if they will not repent and fear him from a loving heart. You see, God
knows his methods of dealing with man will always prevail, but more than that,
God's method of working with mankind will get him what he wants...... a verdict.
So,
what is your verdict to God today? How much do you really love him? Is God the
very first consideration in your life, or are other things captivating you and
winning in the contest to replace God in your life?
So,
as you suffered from the Covid lockdown, did you spend more time with God, both
in prayer and in reading the Bible? If not, what do you suppose God might do to
finally get your love and fear of him back in place? If you missed the message
of the Covid train wreck, or you just refused to deal with it, God will not go
away..... he is still coming on strong to get your submission to his holiness
back.
Isaiah
1:21 How the faithful city has become a prostitute! She was full of justice; righteousness
lodged in her, But now murderers. 22 Your silver has become dross, Your wine
mixed with water. 23 Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves.
Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They don't judge the fatherless,
Neither does the cause of the widow come to them. 24 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh
of Armies, The Mighty One of Israel, says: "Ah, I will get relief from my adversaries,
And avenge myself of my enemies; 25 And I will turn my hand on you, Thoroughly
purge away your dross, And will take away all your tin.
So,
Christians who are awake should be talking about chaos, not politics. Jesus Christ
is the answer to the ongoing chaos, and only his salvation will replace the chaos
with godly order, both in mind and spirit. And, mark it down, the world is drenched
in chaos simply because all men are fallen creatures and cannot get anything right
without God's help.
When
is the last time you put the fear of God into a sinner?
Cheering
for Trump has proved to be cheering for more chaos via hate and rage. Many thousands
of alleged Christians looked the other way regarding Trump's wicked immoral life,
and they now have egg on their faces caused by Trump as he played the world class
bully and loud mouth and made a fool of himself.
Who
is most likely to cause the worst chaos? Joe Biden or God Almighty? If you did
not say God, consider the following:
Who
can drown the whole earth's population, save eight people, with a flood? Who
can destroy a whole empire overnight, as with Babylon? Who can destroy two
large cities with fire? (Sodom) Who can drown a whole national army? (Egypt)
Who will soon slaughter two thirds of the world's population? Who will
one day burn up the whole earth and universe?
"Tell
them that God's gonna cut 'em down"...... who have you told lately?
GOD
HAS BROUGHT CHAOS WORLDWIDE. ARE YOU GETTING THE MESSAGE?
The
modern church tells you God is a big jolly uncle who pretty much lets you be happy
while living a life of self-indulgence. This god is warm and fluffy, and he does
no harm. Let me introduce you to another God you are not hearing about. This is
a second use of the first text because this is the theme of this whole article.
Hebrews
12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace,
whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For
our God is a consuming fire.
Luke
12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Psalms
7:10 My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart. 11 God judgeth
the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
Hebrews
10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
1
Thessalonians 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate
of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath
not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
It
is time to tell the lost that God has an appointment with them to destroy them
in flames and darkness. Stop telling the lost about a fluffy God with a cream
puff Savior who is desperate to cuddle them.
Jude
1:22 And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23 And others save
with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the
flesh.
When
a wild animal confronts chaos, or a new thing, he freezes and processes the chaos
before him. This is the ideal time to shoot the animal. The left side of the brain
then orders fight or flight, and the next moment decides if he will flee or attack.
Either can happen. Lions, leopards, tigers, elephants, and rhinos all do both
and totally unpredictably. Cape buffalos are very likely to attack, but even they
are known to flee at times.
Stupid
hunters, on seeing a lion flee instead of attack, imagine that the lion is a wimp.
But, the same lion may attack when next confronted with chaos. Americans have
gone through the freeze mode when Covid arrived. They are now either fleeing or
fighting. This explains why Christians in particular are either raging at Caesar
over the lockdown, or they are hunkered down and lonely at home, having fled.
This human response explains why some churches stopped meeting publicly, while
others stood against Caesar and are meeting and risking fines and prison terms.
This will eventually create chaos again if Covid does not go away soon. These
fighting churches will have funerals which their consciences will tell them they
caused.
The
two groups of Christians will soon start to attack and mock at each other. I and
my daughter have been attacked and mocked on Facebook by old friends who have
become obsessed with their cavalier response to Covid. They rage and mock at old
friends who take all the precautions. I too have been mocked in some unbelievable
ways by old Christian friends for my stand on Covid. How can this happen?
Pastors
will wage war in the pulpit attacking Caesar and calling flight response (lockdown)
pastors wimps. Satan will win this battle. The Church of Jesus Christ in America
will become a war zone..... saints against saints. Also, I have been thrashed
on Facebook by a very good friend from the past for not exalting Donald Trump.
To keep my sanity I have had to block these people and lose their friendship probably
until we meet in Heaven one day. They hate me.
There
is a church in Tennessee that has a whole new concept of fellowship. A former
pastor of the church, who was our neighbor, told us about the church. He said
that every Sunday, after the service, a fist fight would break out between members
in the parking lot. Eventually, the police had to be on hand every Sunday to prevent
members from attacking one another. How can this be?
Back
to the point..... do you fear God. If so, I can promise you that he will bring
a time of terror to the Church in America in order to drive Christians back together.
This will probably be in the form of serious persecution, and that may be why
God allowed Biden to win the election recently. Biden may cause much sorrow in
American churches. I have no hope that the two factions of Christians will become
rational and stop nagging and mocking one another. Donald Trump has promised to
make a come back, and his supporters in political pulpits will no doubt rise to
exalt him again.
The
present church era is Laodicean, and they are dead. Dead men do not do anything
right. When I was a kid growing up back in Oklahoma, I learned that once a horse
dies, you cannot expect to do much plowing with it. It is buried and soon forgotten.
There are way too many dead horse churches around America, and they stink.
Ezekiel
24:9 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make
the pile for fire great. 10 Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh,
and spice it well, and let the bones be burned. 11 Then set it empty upon
the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the
filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed. 12
She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her:
her scum shall be in the fire.
So,
true Bible believers must not give way to malice and mockery. And, when some new
form of chaos arrives, let us freeze, process the thing in prayer and fasting,
and react with the mind of Christ instead of fight or flight. We must start talking
about the Third Way, neither fighting with one another, nor fleeing in terror.
Christ is the Third Way for every believer, and his voice will be heard to say,
"This is the way, walk ye in it." And, for the record, the US Constitution is
NOT the document that determines how to deal with any new chaos. The Bible should
be our only source for wisdom.
It
is time for the Lord's Church to fear his wrath and chastening before he starts
vomiting local churches.
Here
is pastor Mike Napier from Knoxville, Tennessee giving five Bible based responses
to Covid issues. GO
HERE Scroll down to find them.
THE
FIRE OF A LOVING GOD
Proverbs
26:23 Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver
dross.
This
it a picture of utter uselessness. A potsherd is a piece of a broken clay pot
that is trash, Silver dross is the scum that is taken off of molten silver during
the smelting process. If God has trash, it is the person in the above verse.
Isaiah
1:22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
Proverbs
25:4 Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel
for the finer.
Our
God is totally intolerant of wickedness in us. If we are truly born again, he
will come to us with fire and burn up all the false religion, the sins in our
souls, and the filth on his Bride the Church.
Malachi
3:2 "But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner's fire, and like launderer's soap; 3 and he will
sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi,
and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to Yahweh offerings in
righteousness. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant
to Yahweh, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. 5 I will come near
to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against
the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling
in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of
justice, and don't fear me," says Yahweh of Armies. 6 "For I, Yahweh, don't
change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
If
you think this text applies only to Israel long ago, kindly read verse 6 again.
Our God has not
changed. He will do this very thing to us, both as individuals, and as churches.
I have heard many Charismatics wail, "Let the fire of God fall on us."
One day soon, that is exactly what God will do, and it will not be the warm cozy
thrill like they imagine. Nor will God stop at the First Pentecostal Church. He
will move right on down the street to the Independent KJV Only Baptist Church.
You imagine your church is free of dross and filth because you have Baptist Standards,
but God will burn up your self-righteous standards along with all the rest of
your filth and pride.
If
the fire of God has not come your way since you went a wandering into self-righteousness
and pride, then you are not born again. If this is your local church, then your
church is Laodicean and is part of God's vomit.
Revelation
3:15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold
or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will
vomit you out of my mouth. 17 Because you say, 'I am rich, and have gotten
riches, and have need of nothing;' and don't know that you are the wretched one,
miserable, poor, blind, and naked; 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined
by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself,
and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint
your eyes, that you may see.
All
of this fire from God is because Jesus Christ wants to be able to present you
to himself one day in the glory, and he does not want a trashy bride in his Heaven.
Ephesians
5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly, and gave
himself up for it; 26 that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the
washing of water with the word, 27 that he might present the assembly to himself
gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be
holy and without blemish.
As
we said before, our God is a consuming fire.
CONCLUSION
We
have talked about love and fear of God. We have learned that we must fear God
as we also love God. The last thought I want to leave with you is that God loves
YOU. While God is a consuming fire and a judge, he is also a loving God. Jesus
shows us how much God loves us.
John
15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth
I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but
I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have
made known unto you.
You
have the inside track to God himself. This was accomplished by Jesus Christ on
the cross when he died for you.
1
John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent
his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
What
should be our response to this God who loves us?
Romans
8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
We
have earthly fathers whom we love and fear. And, most people have a father who
loves them. We feel pity on a man who grew up not being loved by his father. Does
your Father in Heaven really love you?
1
John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is
love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
This
is not a fluffy old senile uncle who just loves anyone regardless of their way
of life. Our God loves us so much that he gives us fear to drive us even closer
to himself as his friend. This fearful God loves your company. He promises that
if you walk with him, he will never leave you.
Hebrews
13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things
as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
And,
we are back to the combined sanctifying prospect of both fearing and loving God.
If we get comfortable with God never leaving us or forsaking us, we will live
without covetousness, and we will be satisfied with what God has given us. When
we get greedy and grumpy because we don't have all the toys and advantages we
would like, we should be in fear that God will chasten us and force us to leave
those things that distract us.
Ecclesiastes
8:12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet
surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before
him:
Matthew
10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul:
but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
When
Emperor Heile Salassie walked about in the capital of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, people
would drop down and kiss the ground as he walked by. This reverence of their king
was driven out of their love for him. His people thought of him as their father
and friend because of all the good he did. When he traveled by car to some event,
and if he came on a wedding tent pitched beside the highway, as was the custom
there, Heile Salassie would order the driver to stop, and he would go into the
tent and pay his respects to the bride and groom. He might even eat a couple of
bites from the wedding feast. While the groom, and all the men bowed deep before
him, they loved him because of his generous and kind ways with them. Yet, Heilie
Salassie, when someone decided to mock or annoy him, would have them arrested
and brought to him. He would give them two choices..... Go to prison for life,
or join the Army and become a guard at a water hole in the desert for the rest
of their life. They would always choose to be the guard, but they also learned
to again fear the Emperor. Those who feared the Emperor and loved him lived a
happy life.
Orrie
Cockrane was a member of our local church in Michigan. He was a great blessing
to the saints, and his zeal to talk about Jesus and salvation was both bold and
tender hearted. I went for a ride one day with Orrie in his old Cadillac. He loved
old Cadillacs. Before we left his home, Orrie went into the garage and picked
an old electric motor out of a pile of junk and dropped it into the floor of the
car's back seat. Orrie said, "I need to get this motor fixed."