Sin has and is defiling the earth! Genesis 4:10,11, "the voice of thy brother's blood cries out to me from the ground" (Leviticus 17:11 'the life of the flesh is in the blood.' I believe God could hear the life of Abel crying out from the ground as his blood defiled the earth) "and now art thou cursed from the earth which opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood." Sin got so bad that, "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. And the Lord said,'I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repented Me that I have made them.'" God was actually sorry that he had made man. Because of his sin he had corrupted all of the earth and all that lived upon the earth to the point where God felt it necessary to destroy it.
Gen.6:11, "The earth (beast, man, ground) was also corrupt(in Hebrew the word is shawkhath-meaning decay, waste, ruin, mar, defiled) before God, and the earth was filled with violence."
Gen.6;12,"And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh (man,beast) had corrupted his way (their way was to be in harmony and at peace)upon the earth."
After the flood that purged the earth, Noah offered up a sacrifice to God. "The Lord smelled a sweet savour (Noah's worship stirred God's mercy) and the Lord said in His heart, 'I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite anymore everything living, as I have done.'"(Gen.8:21) Although God showed mercy to man, sin continued. "Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people."(Is.60:2) "The earth is given into the hand of the wicked."(Job 9:24) Sin prevails! Man continues defiling the earth with his sin. This causes "all" of creation (earth, beast, man) to long for redemption.
"For we know that the whole creation (man, beast, earth) groans and travails in pain together until now."(Rom.8:22) Paul is stating that all of creation was looking for a redeemer to take sin away from man so that all of creation could return to the state of existance that it knew at the beginning, pure,clean,in harmony,at peace and undefiled. There is a general out cry of all creation against the sin of man. Sin is a burden to all of creation. When man fell he disrupted the balance of creation and thus all of creation began to act out of character from what they were created to be.
"The earth mourns (remember it is a living organism) and fades away. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws. changed the ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant (the laws of existance,what God originally planned for His creation). Therefore has the curse (of sin) devoured (destroyed, defiled) the earth and they that dwell therein are desolate(laid waste)." Is.24:4,5)
The end results of man defiling the earth are what we are experiencing in the world now. "The earth shook and trembled; the foundation of heaven moved and shook because He was wroth."(II Sam.22:8) The earth was pure, clean, made for eternal existence, but man sinned and brought upon all creation the curse of sin.
As stated earlier, the earth is a living organism created to praise its Creator. To illustrate this may I share the results of an experience that was conducted to prove the effects of music on humans. A group of scientists placed two indentical plants in front of two separate speakers. Through one speaker they played hard rock music while the other plant was exposed to easy listening music. This continued 24/7. Each plant was treated the same but over a period of time the plant in front of the speaker playing easy listening music grew toward the speaker and grew much faster than normal. On the other hand the plant in front of the speaker playing hard rock grew away from the speaker and died. This proves that the plants were living organisms capable of discerning what is in harmony with creation and what is not.
Animals are also living organisms created to praise their Creator. The same group of scientists that were using the plants to prove the effects of music on nature also used animals to test the effects of music. They took four hundred cows from a dairy farm and divided them into two groups. They placed two hundred in one barn with hard rock music playing in it. They then placed the other two hundred cows in a barn where they played easy listening music. The cows exposed to the easy listening music begin to produce twice the milk that they had before. The cows exposed to the hard rock music were uneasy and dried up. Again, the cows were responding to thier environment. That which was contrary to the original plan of creation, harmony and peace, brought about a negitive response. Those cows in a peaceable environment responded positively. Why do animals attack other animals as well as man? They are out of harmony with creation. What man once had dominion over now wants to kill him. Rev.6:8 tells us that the rider of the pale horse will have power to kill one-fourth of the earth's population. He will do this with the sword, hunger, death and by the beast of the field.
What causes animals to go against their created nature of harmony and peace? The SIN of man. What causes man to face sickness, disease, depression, heartbreak, unhappiness, unfulfillment, evil, wickedness,etc.,etc.? The SIN of man. What causes the earth to suffer earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, drought, tsunamies, floods, etc.,etc.? The SIN of man. The earth and creation are trying to rid itself of what caused the problem--man, in sin.
Isaiah had this to say about the end times. "The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression (original sin) thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall and not rise again."(Is.24:20)
"Thy wrath has come---(thou) should destroy them which destroy the earth." (Rev.11:18)
"And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomits out her inhabitants."(Lev.18:25) She is trying to cleanse herself.
Six thousand years of defilement, sin!! And as it was in the days of Noah, God is about to cleanse the earth of sin. The earth is sending out signals that the end is near. She is rejecting sin. She is attempting to cleanse herself, by shaking-earthquakes; by winds-tornadoes, hurricanes, damaging winds; by washing-floods, tsunamies; by burning-drought, wildfires. Yet, man still won't listen and repent but continues to defile the earth with sin.
There is an upside to this message. "When thy judgements are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn RIGHTOUSNESS." (Is.26:9) In the mist of all of the choas of today and its increasing effects, the church will experience a great revival! The world will experience a great awaking! We shall see a great harvest of souls! Then we shall see Jesus!!! The earth will melt away.(II Peter 3:7-13) Those who have accepted the Redeemer will put on new bodies and move to a new earth where there will no longer be any sin.
The end is near! All of creation is groaning! What should we do? (Read the answer in Ps.46:1-11.)
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
ALL OF CREATION IS GROANING--Pt.1
In light of the recent tragedies in Japan, I believe that it would behoove us to take a look at what's happening in our world through the eyes of Scripture. No matter what your preference is in cable news it seems as though all the news networks are asking experts why there is such an increase of natural disasters. We've been having history making snowstorms globally. History making droughts and wildfires globally. History making floods globally. History making number of volcanoes globally. History making tsunamis. History making earthquakes. History making tornadoes, which are no longer restricted to tornado alley. History making cyclones throughout Asia and the Pacific. History making low temperature. History making high temperatures. History making solar disturbances. Etc. etc. etc. Many of these experts are honest enough to simply say, "I don't know what's happening." "There is no logical answer." Even the Prime Minister of Japan stated that he believed the disasters are from heaven because of his nations greed. And of course the European "experts" who say the earthquake was caused by global warming.It is as tho all of creation is groaning.
Nearly all the prophetic voices, with an accurate track record, have had this to say about the year 2011. 2011 will be a year of unprecedented chaos, upheaval, tragedy, economic collapse, poverty, disease, and historical record making events. But all of these prophetic voices also seem to agree that in the midst of all this we shall see a great revival break loose in the church, a global spiritual awakening and the great harvest of souls for Christ. One such prophetic voice stated in December of 2010 on two different occasions that in March of 2011 there will be great tragedy and disaster coming to the world. This same person said on February 28 of this year, "An earthquake of a 9.0+ magnitude will hit Japan soon." Upon hearing this another prophetic voice who has prophesied many of the events of the past decade added that once "the big one" hits Japan, California will be next. In fact the same person said that they have seen in a vision the city of Los Angeles laying in ruins, soon. Geologists have even discovered new fault lines lying under the city of Los Angeles which would seem to indicate pending doom. And I myself believe that the city of Las Vegas will soon experience an earthquake that will leave the Stratosphere and many casinos collapsed.
Immediately following the earthquake in Japan I began to seek God as to why all these natural disasters are happening. The short answer God seemed to be saying to me was these things are happening because of the sin of man and that the end is near. He spoke into my heart that the earth is simply reacting to thousands of years of sin. To better understand this we need to look at Genesis chapter 1. God spent some five days of creation preparing a perfect place for a perfect creation. A creation that would be God's companion for eternity. A place of peace and harmony. There were no meat eaters at the time, thus animals could dwell among themselves, as well as with man, with no fear. Man was created perfect, sinless, to have dominion and authority, and to be eternally existent. God then created man from the dust of the earth. So the earth was for man and man was for the earth for they were made of the same substance. They were created to be pure, clean and supporting one another. Everything was created to bring praise to God.
Psalms 47:1 states, "O clap your hands, all you people; shout to God with the voice of triumph."
Psalms 98:9 states, "Let the floods clap their hands."
Isaiah 55:12 states, "For ye shall go out with joy, and be lead forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."
We can see from these verses of Scripture, as well as many others, that all of creation is to praise the Creator. In fact Jesus even said upon making his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, as the people were shouting and rejoicing as He came into town and the Pharisees ordered him to stop this outburst of fanaticism, "I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." (Luke 19:40). Then in Isaiah 49:13 we read, "Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; break forth into singing, O mountains." Just one more Scripture of many that we could share, Isaiah 44:23 states, "Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord has done it; shout, you lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest and every tree therein." The earth, man and all creation were created to live in harmony and bring glory to the creator. We know that man has the ability to offer up a hand-clap praise unto God, but what about the floods (the waters of the deep), trees and the mountians clapping and singing before God?
As Jesus was making His triumphal enter into Jersalem and the religious leaders begin to rebuke Him because of the fanical praise of the people, He said. "I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out."(Lk.19:40) Is.49:13 states, "Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; break forth into singing, O mountians." Is.44:23 says,"Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord has done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountians, O forest and every tree therein." If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there, does it still make a noise? Just because man can not hear the earth clapping and singing doesn't mean its not happining--God hears it! We would never say that we have heard animals talk, yet Balaam's donkey carried on a conversation with him in Numbers chapter 22. With God all things are possible!! He created everything to to praise Him! Why would Jesus say that the stones would cry out if they could not be heard in heaven? Why would God say that the floods, trees, mountians and all of creation would praise Him if it were not true? "God is not a man that He should lie." Just because our finite minds can not see or hear nature praising God doesn't mean its not happening. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts,"(Is.55:8,9) All of creation, man, earth and beast, were created to be a praise to their Creator.
Everything was going fine until Genesis chapter 3 where in verse 13 we see that Eve was deceived. Instead of accepting the absolute truth of God's word; that being, "That if you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you will surely die," she and Adam chose to believe a delusion, the deception of Satan. As always Satan twisted the words of God to mean something other than what God intended. They chose the deception because it appealed to their flesh and thus sin entered a perfect creation--man's heart. Then man began to defile the earth. God pronounces a curse on the earth because this is where man came from. "Cursed is the ground for thy sake." (Genesis 3:17). "Because of the ground which the Lord has cursed." (Genesis 5:29). What Adam once had dominion over, now turns on him. The beast become carnivorous, flesh eaters, thus it was unsafe for man or animal to cohabitate together. The earth now begins to produce thorns and thistles instead of fruitfulness for man. This is to continue until, "In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, till you return unto the ground; for out of it were you taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shall you return." (Genesis 3:19).
The earth is reacting to a foreign substance--SIN! By earthquakes, it's trying to shake it off. By tornadoes and hurricanes and dangerous winds, it's trying to blow it off. By its floods, tsunamis and torrential rains, it's trying to wash it off. By drought and wildfires, it's trying to burn it off. Sin has and is defiling the earth!! As a dog with fleas or ticks attempts to scratch them off, so it is with the earth, she is tring to rid herself of sin.
Nearly all the prophetic voices, with an accurate track record, have had this to say about the year 2011. 2011 will be a year of unprecedented chaos, upheaval, tragedy, economic collapse, poverty, disease, and historical record making events. But all of these prophetic voices also seem to agree that in the midst of all this we shall see a great revival break loose in the church, a global spiritual awakening and the great harvest of souls for Christ. One such prophetic voice stated in December of 2010 on two different occasions that in March of 2011 there will be great tragedy and disaster coming to the world. This same person said on February 28 of this year, "An earthquake of a 9.0+ magnitude will hit Japan soon." Upon hearing this another prophetic voice who has prophesied many of the events of the past decade added that once "the big one" hits Japan, California will be next. In fact the same person said that they have seen in a vision the city of Los Angeles laying in ruins, soon. Geologists have even discovered new fault lines lying under the city of Los Angeles which would seem to indicate pending doom. And I myself believe that the city of Las Vegas will soon experience an earthquake that will leave the Stratosphere and many casinos collapsed.
Immediately following the earthquake in Japan I began to seek God as to why all these natural disasters are happening. The short answer God seemed to be saying to me was these things are happening because of the sin of man and that the end is near. He spoke into my heart that the earth is simply reacting to thousands of years of sin. To better understand this we need to look at Genesis chapter 1. God spent some five days of creation preparing a perfect place for a perfect creation. A creation that would be God's companion for eternity. A place of peace and harmony. There were no meat eaters at the time, thus animals could dwell among themselves, as well as with man, with no fear. Man was created perfect, sinless, to have dominion and authority, and to be eternally existent. God then created man from the dust of the earth. So the earth was for man and man was for the earth for they were made of the same substance. They were created to be pure, clean and supporting one another. Everything was created to bring praise to God.
Psalms 47:1 states, "O clap your hands, all you people; shout to God with the voice of triumph."
Psalms 98:9 states, "Let the floods clap their hands."
Isaiah 55:12 states, "For ye shall go out with joy, and be lead forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."
We can see from these verses of Scripture, as well as many others, that all of creation is to praise the Creator. In fact Jesus even said upon making his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, as the people were shouting and rejoicing as He came into town and the Pharisees ordered him to stop this outburst of fanaticism, "I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." (Luke 19:40). Then in Isaiah 49:13 we read, "Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; break forth into singing, O mountains." Just one more Scripture of many that we could share, Isaiah 44:23 states, "Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord has done it; shout, you lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest and every tree therein." The earth, man and all creation were created to live in harmony and bring glory to the creator. We know that man has the ability to offer up a hand-clap praise unto God, but what about the floods (the waters of the deep), trees and the mountians clapping and singing before God?
As Jesus was making His triumphal enter into Jersalem and the religious leaders begin to rebuke Him because of the fanical praise of the people, He said. "I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out."(Lk.19:40) Is.49:13 states, "Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; break forth into singing, O mountians." Is.44:23 says,"Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord has done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountians, O forest and every tree therein." If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there, does it still make a noise? Just because man can not hear the earth clapping and singing doesn't mean its not happining--God hears it! We would never say that we have heard animals talk, yet Balaam's donkey carried on a conversation with him in Numbers chapter 22. With God all things are possible!! He created everything to to praise Him! Why would Jesus say that the stones would cry out if they could not be heard in heaven? Why would God say that the floods, trees, mountians and all of creation would praise Him if it were not true? "God is not a man that He should lie." Just because our finite minds can not see or hear nature praising God doesn't mean its not happening. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts,"(Is.55:8,9) All of creation, man, earth and beast, were created to be a praise to their Creator.
Everything was going fine until Genesis chapter 3 where in verse 13 we see that Eve was deceived. Instead of accepting the absolute truth of God's word; that being, "That if you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you will surely die," she and Adam chose to believe a delusion, the deception of Satan. As always Satan twisted the words of God to mean something other than what God intended. They chose the deception because it appealed to their flesh and thus sin entered a perfect creation--man's heart. Then man began to defile the earth. God pronounces a curse on the earth because this is where man came from. "Cursed is the ground for thy sake." (Genesis 3:17). "Because of the ground which the Lord has cursed." (Genesis 5:29). What Adam once had dominion over, now turns on him. The beast become carnivorous, flesh eaters, thus it was unsafe for man or animal to cohabitate together. The earth now begins to produce thorns and thistles instead of fruitfulness for man. This is to continue until, "In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, till you return unto the ground; for out of it were you taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shall you return." (Genesis 3:19).
The earth is reacting to a foreign substance--SIN! By earthquakes, it's trying to shake it off. By tornadoes and hurricanes and dangerous winds, it's trying to blow it off. By its floods, tsunamis and torrential rains, it's trying to wash it off. By drought and wildfires, it's trying to burn it off. Sin has and is defiling the earth!! As a dog with fleas or ticks attempts to scratch them off, so it is with the earth, she is tring to rid herself of sin.
Monday, March 7, 2011
THE GREAT DELUSION--Pt.2
Let us continue looking at the great delusion or the strong delusion that God said that he would send among His people. God is allowing leaders to be tested to receive a delusion or that which is not lining up with absolute truth. Then they, (believing to have revelation knowledge) begin to tell others a delusion, a diluted, compromise word, because they are receiving a lying spirit. The word diluted means to make weaker by mixing, such as mixing absolute truth with half truths. This can be illustrated by taking a small bottle of grape juice and pouring it into a pitcher and then filling the pitcher all the way to the top with water. Though it may still look like grape juice it has been diluted, meaning it will no longer taste like the original. This is what we do with the Word of God, the absolute truth. We began to mix with it our own opinions, biases, doctrinal understanding,etc., and thus, we stray from the original intent of the Word.
Another definition of the word diluted, is to reduce the purity of. This is what's happening with a majority of our modern translations of the Bible. The translators paraphrase the absolute truths to fit their own personal biases, doctrines, or opinions. It's as though today you can find a Bible translation that will fit almost any opinion of the believers. This has all been designed to dilute the Word in order for God to send this strong delusion to test the hearts of his people to see if we still know absolute truths and will defend them. If we do not know the truths of God's Word, then we are easily misled by the inaccuracies of many of our new translations. Without studying to show ourselves approved then we will also miss the inaccuracies in sermons, tapes, CDs, DVDs, etc.
Allow me to illustrate exactly what this strong delusion, this spirit of religion, looks like. First we must understand that there is a fine line between a professing Christian and a true Christian, a true follower of Jesus. A professing Christian may very well be one who started out as a born again believer in Jesus Christ. But through exposure to a compromised Word or diluted messages they find themselves in a place of complacency. They develop an attitude that not all of the Word of God applys to their lives. They find themselves in a position of compromise where now they begin to surrender biblical principles such as holiness, purity and righteousness. Soon there develops a "form of godliness but denying the power thereof", or to say there's a profession of faith but the power to change one's life is not evident. The Word of God admonishes us in Philippians 2:12, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." I must confess I always wondered what this "fear" is. Proverbs 8:13 states, "the fear of God is to hate evil." This is what's missing in a professing Christian's life, there is no hatred of evil.
Professing Christians began to place their faith and their eternal security in their churches, denominations, pastors, or other's opinions. We become more focused on performance than on relationship with God. We may know the Bible yet we don't obey it. Professing Christians show no regard for the Word of God when it comes to current sins plagueing the church, like divorce. It doesn't matter that in Malachi chapter 3 God says that he hates putting away, or to say divorce, or that Jesus told us that the only grounds for divorce is that of unfaithfulness, as believers if we want to get a divorce we just do it. We seem to believe that we can do what ever we want, and once we've enjoyed sin's pleasures, then we confess our sins to God and rely on His mercy and His love to just look over it. We have those in the pulpit as well as those in the pew living in adultery,fornication, lieing,etc., and yet professing to be Christians relying on God's mercy and love to just simply "overlook" our sins. This is a "strong delusion!!" This is what I mean by the Word of God being diluted over the years. With the shift to God's mercy and his love being the predominant message of the church we no longer fear his judgment, wrath or his hatred of sin.
We may be able to pray like no other. We can even quote Scriptures. We can be faithful and loyal to the local church, Bible studies, book groups, prayer groups as well as other church activities and still be deceived if we do not apply the absolute truth of all of God's Word to our lives. If we refuse truths because it doesn't fit our understanding or doctrine or if it interferes with our lifestyles, our recreational pleasures, etc., then we our deceived. It is this mindset that Paul addresses in II Thessalonians 2:12, which reads, "that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteous."
Paul is stating here that all who do not love, accept and believe the absolute truth of God's Word are the ones who are receiving this delusion and that they are also going to be condemned. Paul is not necessarily saying that these people are practicing unrighteousness but that they take pleasure in unrighteousness. In other words we may not commit adultery, fornication, gay acts, murder, violence, use foul language, or other forms of worldliness, but we take pleasure in them by supporting them. Whenever we view TV shows, movies, things that we watch on the computer, even the books and magazines that we read or look at we are saying that we approve of those things. So if we're watching a movie, a TV program or other forms of entertainment that is showing people committing adultery or fornication or committing gay acts or violence, murder or just the use of foul language, if we're watching these then we are saying we approve of these things as a Christian and that this is proper entertainment and lifestyles for those who love God.
Again Paul addresses this issue by stating in Romans 1:32, "who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them." Paul had been speaking about homosexuality as well as numerous other sins in this chapter when he made this statement. Again, we may not participate in the sins that he had just listed but if we watched them, search the Internet for them, or read about them for entertainment value, then we are, by our actions, approving of them. The book of Psalms 102:2,3 states, "I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes." Are we walking within our houses with a perfect heart before God and our families? If we are permitting things into our home that do not glorify God then we are not walking within our houses with a perfect heart. " I will set nothing wicked before my eyes" should be our motto of life. We should not watch movies, television programs, anything on the computer, etc., if it defiles us. If it causes us to meditate upon sinfulness or unrighteousness then we should not set it before our eyes.
Isaiah speaks of this delusion being a religious spirit in Isaiah 66:1-4. "'Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,' says the Lord.'But on this one will I look: on him who is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word. He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog's neck; he who offers a grain offering, as if he offer swine's blood; he who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol. Just as they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations, so I will choose their delusion, and bring their fears on them; because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke they did not hear; but they did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight.'"
God is saying here that he does not take pleasure in those who flaunt their "liberty". Who "feel no conviction" when living in sin or "approving" of it. But he delights in the one who grieves over sin, not just their own sin but the sins of the world as well. When we offer up the sacrifice of praise unto God without the true spirit of sacrifice this becomes an abomination. We may offer up great prayers, worship and praise, we may lift up our hands, we may even speak in tongues, but without abiding in the absolute truth of God's Word and being in relationship with Him and being of a contrite spirit then these things are an abomination to God-- this is a spirit of religion. All the things that are listed in verse three were forms of religious observances offered to God. What He is saying here is that He is not pleased with religious ritual but with an obedient heart. God is saying here, through Isaiah, that the guilt of the people he was addressing lay in their insincerity. Their heart was far from God when their feet were in His house. Notice in verse four that Isaiah is prophesying what Paul would speak of in second Thessalonians, that being, God choosing a delusion for His people. That delusion is when people offer up their sacrifices of praise, thithes, gifts, etc., but not from a loyal heart and believing that religious rituals please God. II Chronicles 25:2 states when Amaziah become king,"and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart." We practice our religion well but our hearts aren't set on holiness and righteousness, this is a spirit of religion. God said in verse four that when he spoke they did not hear, this is all so true today. God is speaking through preachers and prophets, calling his people to holiness and righteousness, and yet they do not want to hear it. Instead "they did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight."
With the absolute truths of God's Word having been diluted, mankind now decides what is right for them. We now conform the Word to fit us not conforming our lives to fit the Word. We want preachers who tickle our ears. "Who say to seers,' do not see,' and to the prophets,'do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.'"(Is.30:10) This is the strong delusion! This is the spirit of religion!
A spirit of religion, a strong delusion, has captivated a large portion of our churches. Truth is now being mixed with half-truths or man's understanding of truths. The delusion that God has chosen is a diluted Word, a straying from absolute truth. Remember the definition of a delusion is a false, fixed belief, held in spite of evidence to the contrary. God is testing us to see if we not only know absolute truth but are we obeying it. Do we study to show ourselves approved so that we may recognize half-truths and even unscriptural prophecies and messages? What do our actions and lifestyles tell the world that we are approving of? Is our worship from a loyal heart or just religious ritual? Absolute truth or delusion which one are we following?
Another definition of the word diluted, is to reduce the purity of. This is what's happening with a majority of our modern translations of the Bible. The translators paraphrase the absolute truths to fit their own personal biases, doctrines, or opinions. It's as though today you can find a Bible translation that will fit almost any opinion of the believers. This has all been designed to dilute the Word in order for God to send this strong delusion to test the hearts of his people to see if we still know absolute truths and will defend them. If we do not know the truths of God's Word, then we are easily misled by the inaccuracies of many of our new translations. Without studying to show ourselves approved then we will also miss the inaccuracies in sermons, tapes, CDs, DVDs, etc.
Allow me to illustrate exactly what this strong delusion, this spirit of religion, looks like. First we must understand that there is a fine line between a professing Christian and a true Christian, a true follower of Jesus. A professing Christian may very well be one who started out as a born again believer in Jesus Christ. But through exposure to a compromised Word or diluted messages they find themselves in a place of complacency. They develop an attitude that not all of the Word of God applys to their lives. They find themselves in a position of compromise where now they begin to surrender biblical principles such as holiness, purity and righteousness. Soon there develops a "form of godliness but denying the power thereof", or to say there's a profession of faith but the power to change one's life is not evident. The Word of God admonishes us in Philippians 2:12, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." I must confess I always wondered what this "fear" is. Proverbs 8:13 states, "the fear of God is to hate evil." This is what's missing in a professing Christian's life, there is no hatred of evil.
Professing Christians began to place their faith and their eternal security in their churches, denominations, pastors, or other's opinions. We become more focused on performance than on relationship with God. We may know the Bible yet we don't obey it. Professing Christians show no regard for the Word of God when it comes to current sins plagueing the church, like divorce. It doesn't matter that in Malachi chapter 3 God says that he hates putting away, or to say divorce, or that Jesus told us that the only grounds for divorce is that of unfaithfulness, as believers if we want to get a divorce we just do it. We seem to believe that we can do what ever we want, and once we've enjoyed sin's pleasures, then we confess our sins to God and rely on His mercy and His love to just look over it. We have those in the pulpit as well as those in the pew living in adultery,fornication, lieing,etc., and yet professing to be Christians relying on God's mercy and love to just simply "overlook" our sins. This is a "strong delusion!!" This is what I mean by the Word of God being diluted over the years. With the shift to God's mercy and his love being the predominant message of the church we no longer fear his judgment, wrath or his hatred of sin.
We may be able to pray like no other. We can even quote Scriptures. We can be faithful and loyal to the local church, Bible studies, book groups, prayer groups as well as other church activities and still be deceived if we do not apply the absolute truth of all of God's Word to our lives. If we refuse truths because it doesn't fit our understanding or doctrine or if it interferes with our lifestyles, our recreational pleasures, etc., then we our deceived. It is this mindset that Paul addresses in II Thessalonians 2:12, which reads, "that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteous."
Paul is stating here that all who do not love, accept and believe the absolute truth of God's Word are the ones who are receiving this delusion and that they are also going to be condemned. Paul is not necessarily saying that these people are practicing unrighteousness but that they take pleasure in unrighteousness. In other words we may not commit adultery, fornication, gay acts, murder, violence, use foul language, or other forms of worldliness, but we take pleasure in them by supporting them. Whenever we view TV shows, movies, things that we watch on the computer, even the books and magazines that we read or look at we are saying that we approve of those things. So if we're watching a movie, a TV program or other forms of entertainment that is showing people committing adultery or fornication or committing gay acts or violence, murder or just the use of foul language, if we're watching these then we are saying we approve of these things as a Christian and that this is proper entertainment and lifestyles for those who love God.
Again Paul addresses this issue by stating in Romans 1:32, "who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them." Paul had been speaking about homosexuality as well as numerous other sins in this chapter when he made this statement. Again, we may not participate in the sins that he had just listed but if we watched them, search the Internet for them, or read about them for entertainment value, then we are, by our actions, approving of them. The book of Psalms 102:2,3 states, "I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes." Are we walking within our houses with a perfect heart before God and our families? If we are permitting things into our home that do not glorify God then we are not walking within our houses with a perfect heart. " I will set nothing wicked before my eyes" should be our motto of life. We should not watch movies, television programs, anything on the computer, etc., if it defiles us. If it causes us to meditate upon sinfulness or unrighteousness then we should not set it before our eyes.
Isaiah speaks of this delusion being a religious spirit in Isaiah 66:1-4. "'Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,' says the Lord.'But on this one will I look: on him who is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word. He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog's neck; he who offers a grain offering, as if he offer swine's blood; he who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol. Just as they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations, so I will choose their delusion, and bring their fears on them; because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke they did not hear; but they did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight.'"
God is saying here that he does not take pleasure in those who flaunt their "liberty". Who "feel no conviction" when living in sin or "approving" of it. But he delights in the one who grieves over sin, not just their own sin but the sins of the world as well. When we offer up the sacrifice of praise unto God without the true spirit of sacrifice this becomes an abomination. We may offer up great prayers, worship and praise, we may lift up our hands, we may even speak in tongues, but without abiding in the absolute truth of God's Word and being in relationship with Him and being of a contrite spirit then these things are an abomination to God-- this is a spirit of religion. All the things that are listed in verse three were forms of religious observances offered to God. What He is saying here is that He is not pleased with religious ritual but with an obedient heart. God is saying here, through Isaiah, that the guilt of the people he was addressing lay in their insincerity. Their heart was far from God when their feet were in His house. Notice in verse four that Isaiah is prophesying what Paul would speak of in second Thessalonians, that being, God choosing a delusion for His people. That delusion is when people offer up their sacrifices of praise, thithes, gifts, etc., but not from a loyal heart and believing that religious rituals please God. II Chronicles 25:2 states when Amaziah become king,"and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart." We practice our religion well but our hearts aren't set on holiness and righteousness, this is a spirit of religion. God said in verse four that when he spoke they did not hear, this is all so true today. God is speaking through preachers and prophets, calling his people to holiness and righteousness, and yet they do not want to hear it. Instead "they did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight."
With the absolute truths of God's Word having been diluted, mankind now decides what is right for them. We now conform the Word to fit us not conforming our lives to fit the Word. We want preachers who tickle our ears. "Who say to seers,' do not see,' and to the prophets,'do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.'"(Is.30:10) This is the strong delusion! This is the spirit of religion!
A spirit of religion, a strong delusion, has captivated a large portion of our churches. Truth is now being mixed with half-truths or man's understanding of truths. The delusion that God has chosen is a diluted Word, a straying from absolute truth. Remember the definition of a delusion is a false, fixed belief, held in spite of evidence to the contrary. God is testing us to see if we not only know absolute truth but are we obeying it. Do we study to show ourselves approved so that we may recognize half-truths and even unscriptural prophecies and messages? What do our actions and lifestyles tell the world that we are approving of? Is our worship from a loyal heart or just religious ritual? Absolute truth or delusion which one are we following?
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