The will of God

 

(Mark 3:35) “For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

 

Here we see the Lord Jesus making a statement, which fulfils the requirement for us all, if we want to be included in the family of God, it’s all about finding the “will of God” for our lives. Its can never be about our will but HIS!

 

God created mankind with an objective, for them to align their wills with His. There is obviously many angles to this, but in order for Him to be pleased with what He had created, mankind would need to align their will with His under a banner of choice. An ability for specific individuals to make independent choices, often refer to as “free will”. So how would God achieve His objective? We were not moulded as robots, we have the ability to choose right from wrong. But to understand this, we need to go back to the beginning, the first three chapters of Genesis is crucial to lay the correct foundation. Let me use Malcolm Harris’ example, when they ate from the tree of the “Knowledge of Good and Evil”, man’s conscience was activated. Prior to this awareness we would be guiltless, does a pack of wild dogs feel remorse when feeding on a live animal? No! They do not have a conscience, but we do, all because of our knowledge of Good and Evil. This is where the Law of God comes into play, it gave the Israelites a yardstick to hone in on God’s requirements. Fine tweaking right from wrong. However, we also know that prior to the Law of God, mankind was not guiltless, hence the flood, where God destroyed every living creature, save those in the Ark. Here we see confirmation of God’s judgment and why he destroyed the living; “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”  (Genesis 6:5) – No application to that which was good, “only evil continually”.

 

Now back to the implementation of the Law; because of their sinful natures, all the law ultimately proved was that it was an impossible task. Sure provision was made for failure, hence the shedding of blood through sacrifice, grain offerings and washings. This is a mammoth study in itself, but best summed up like this; “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:24) – Other interpretations use the word “schoolmaster” by implication the law was a tool to teach us that we could never live up to God’s requirements because of our sinful tendencies and in order to achieve God objective in our lives we needed a Saviour. Hence the introduction of the man Jesus Christ, the one and only to never breach the law of God and therefore he became a once for all time sacrifice never to be repeated. Salvation starts and end with HIM! “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2Corinthians 5:21) – The love of God personified!

 

What we now need to tackled, is how can we find the will of God for our lives? Obviously we need to be born again to have any chance in making the right choices. We need the Spirit of God's help. Can a dead individual make a choice? Did Lazarus choose to be brought back to life? As a dead individual did he shout "pick me pick me"? NO! Jesus said “Lazarus come forth" and he came forth. This is exactly the same way we are born again, God breathes life into an individual and only then are they armed to find the will of God for their lives. Prior to this they are dead, here is a crucial portion of scripture that we need to understand; “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—“ (Ephesians 2:1-5) - We have been saved by grace (especially the divine influence upon the heart), its God who gives us life, to ever conceive that we who were dead, out of our free will, chose God, does not align with scripture. Only once we have the Spirit of God residing in us are we equipped to find the will of God for our lives. Think of two men sitting in the same room under exactly the same conditions listening to a gospel message, why does one respond favourably whilst the other rejects the offer of salvation? Is the one better than the other? Are they both not under the same condemnation, dead in their trespasses and their sins? God has to intervene, without His influence nothing can or will ever change. Romans chapter 9 affirms this very clearly.

 

Now that we have been saved, do we become robots? Absolutely not! Life is a journey and we will make mistakes, some more than others, guilty as charged. Nevertheless, life is now all about choices and we must learn to find the will of God for our lives and only then like the Lord Jesus affirms will we be part of the household of God; “For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” – This in itself is a process and this is how our beloved brother Paul puts it’s; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  (Romans 12:1-2) – By application this can never be a robot mentality, but “free will” comes into play, we make independent decisions and must bear the brunt of the wrong choices. We now learn through the struggle of life, to live by faith and align our wills with the will of God. For the straggles, once again guilty as charged, those of us who are dull of hearing, the love of God disciplines us. See Hebrews chapter 12…

 

“To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.” 

 

Signing out

 

Tyrone

 

     

 

    

 

    

 

 (Habakkuk 3:6) "His ways are everlasting."

 

The unknown is something we are well aware and at first I wanted to allocate blame to "sin" for this condition, but prior to sin there was an unknown, the “knowledge of good and evil”. God’s creation in the form of man and woman were not permitted to venture down that road. It could well had something to do with God’s previous creation, the fall of the angelic beings. But this is simply an educated guess, God knows! Mankind’s ways are full of variance, but God’s ways are everlasting. Ever since we rebelled against God way back when, six thousand years ago, when Eve thought she knew better, sure she was deceived, but deception will never excuse our actions. She looked to rush God’s plan. Although she carries the weight of the blame, we are all guilty as charged and sinners by nature. The deeper I gaze into God’s spiritual dimension, simply put the more the bible is studied, I find myself peeling back the layers of amazement, which I will only ever refer to as the “Brilliance of God”; Every plan thwart by the enemy has and will be turned on its head as if God had himself instituted the plan. Deception will never catch God unawares, NEVER! God is the same “yesterday, today and tomorrow”, His character will never change, not like us, chaff in the wind.

 

When we look at the finished work of the cross, are you not astonished at the beauty that is now ours? The absorption of something so vile, cruel and wicked. The complete punishment the Lord Jesus received, to have his face marred from the blows it received, his body beaten to a pulp and then crucified. God in the flesh, the One who knew no sin was now being punished for sin, please let that resonate! Reject this offer and there’s no hope for you, zero! "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved."

Isaiah paint this picture for us; “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:3-6) – On the surface of this historical event, we see so many of his follows, dejected as they witnessed the Lord’s crucifixion, they felt defeated. Satan and his follows looking to devour and destroy God in the flesh and for a time there may have well been some celebration, BUT on the 3^rd Day HE rose again, hallelujah! Praise God!

 

“Our actions is frequently the result of passion, or fear and is followed by regret and altercation; but nothing can take the Almighty by surprise, or happen otherwise than he has foreseen His ways are the outgrowth of an immutable character, and in them the fixed and settled attributes of God are clearly to be seen. Unless the Eternal One himself can undergo change, his ways, which are himself in action, must remain for ever the same. Is he eternally just, gracious, faithful, wise, tender?-then his ways must ever be distinguished for the same excellences. Beings act according to their nature: when those natures change, their conduct varies also; but since God cannot know the shadow of a turning, his ways will abide everlastingly the same. Moreover there is no reason from without which could reverse the divine ways, since they are the embodiment of irresistible might. The earth is said, by the prophet, to be cleft with rivers, mountains tremble, the deep lifts up its hands, and sun and moon stand still, when Jehovah marches forth for the salvation of his people. Who can stay his hand, or say unto him, what doest thou? But it is not might alone which gives stability; God's ways are the manifestation of the eternal principles of right, and therefore can never pass away. Wrong breeds decay and involves ruin, but the true and the good have about them a vitality which ages cannot diminish.”  (Charles Spurgeon)

 

If God is for us who can be against us? However for those who do not align their wills with His, judgment is looming...  

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Heritage

 

Heritage is something that intrigues us all, we all like to know our history when it come to our ancestry. The “Black lives Matters” movement that is now in full swing has piqued the interest of many. Samuel L Jackson has now travelled down a road seeking out his origin; Gabon in West Africa and this documentary can be viewed on many platforms. I am told that I come from the lineage of a Prime Minister, on my mother’s side. My grandfather’s father’s bother was supposedly Louis Botha, South Africa’s first Prime Minister. The truth be told, there is something that the flesh loves about the boast of a legacy. My step brother Mike, traced his linage back to William Wallace of Scotland, better known to most as Brave Heart, in fact, he even framed a placard that paints his wall. But all of this heritage ride on the wave of death, all of those individuals are now dead. Seventy years or there a bouts and then the end for all. What a dismal hope when viewed laterally against eternity, the part we do not see, and yet somehow we all know exists, time without end and all that entails, our eternal futures.

 

Our souls will live on beyond the end of days, whether we embrace a blissful existence or cursed torment, all depends on our spiritual heritage. This now become a fundamental truth that we daren’t miss. God sent his only begotten Son the Lord Jesus Christ to defeat the curse of sin, and the way in which he achieved that was to live a life of sinless perfection and then pay the price for the sins of many, by being sentenced to death by crucifixion as if he had sinned. It was his sacrifice that opened a way for sinners, you and me, to re-establish the connection Adam had with God in the beginning. This amazing attrition of love from Jesus Christ, the One who laid his life down for his enemies. He was buried and on the third day, God raised him from the dead, and there are many eye witnesses to verify this truth. Those who saw him alive and well after being buried in a tomb. Then the time came for his ascension and he ascended back into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of his Father, where he arbitrates for all those who rely on Him, every born again believer. Kapow! Now that’s the heritage that excites me and my boast is most certainly in HIM…

 

Our bodies will all face death, but He has conquered death, He rose again! Our initial heritage, we all children of the devil because of our own sin, but HE has conquered sin! All those who rely on the finished work of the cross, will receive glorified bodies, just like His, a body that will take us into eternity and beyond. But for those who reject and turn their noses up to our blessed Redeemers accomplishment they will face the Lake of fire and torment will be their lot into endless hopelessness…

 

For all the fence sitters, and those who still breathe the oxygen God has afforded them to sustain their mortal bodies, there is great news, pay very careful attention! “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Roman 10:13) – But call you must, your future depends upon it. As for me and my household we will serve the Lord...

 

Signing out

 

Tyrone

Our response to God's call...

 

An ineffectual call will always land on deaf ears, but an effectual call will always reap its desired result; salvation in and through the finished work of the cross. All glory, will always, into the ages of eternity, belong to our blessed Redeemer, the Great, the One and only Lord Jesus Christ, the One in whom I will boast. Amen and hallelujah!

 

Election; those who God has and will save, from the vilest of the vile, the meekest of the meek and those in a deep hole of desperateness, they will be turned, for when it happens, it highlights the brilliance of God. Why does the same message save one and not another, think about it, two people in the same room under the exact same conditions and only one responds favourably. Why is one hardened whilst the other laps the message in like a dry sponge soaks up water? It is a rather simple answer, the call was either ineffectual or effectual, pay careful attention; Think on it like this, two cars parked in a garage, the ineffectual cars battery has run flat, the is no power to crank the engine, there is no spark! The effectual cars battery is primed by the Spirit of God and turns over with ease. One is capable of response whilst the other isn’t. No matter how hard we try to convince someone to believe, if they haven’t been elected it is a fruitless exercise, of this I am now convinced!

 

The hour when the Spirit of God works in the sinners life, the day when someone openly declares; “I believe, I can see, I can see”, is a miracle. It’s only when we start to humanize the process that we get bent out of shape, remember the Lord’s words to Nicodemus; “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)

 

How do some get saved and others not, and I’m not talking about those who come along for the ride for a time and then bail out, they were never truly saved. Read John Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress… or the parable of the sower also illustrates this well. But those whom God has chosen from before the world began, they are the elect. The twelve disciples, hand-picked before they were even born. Jesus selected them individually to teach them the way. Look at Peters explanation; “So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” (1Peter 2:7-8) – The gospel they heard was ineffectual. On the flip side those effectually called, case in point, the Apostles. He said follow me and the account reads: “immediately they left their nets and followed Him.” Other encounters with men in scripture tell a different story, one man wanted to first go bury his father and then he would follow the Lord. When the Spirit of God works in a person’s life, nothing will and can take preference over that call. When God said let there be light, it’s not as if the light debated whether to shine or not.

 

This does not detract from the gospel message going out to all… “If Judas had not been an apostle, he could not have been a traitor; if men had known the way of righteousness, they could not have abused it.”  (Matthew Henry)  

 

Think of it like this, a writer pens a novel and he/she creates the characters in the book, some are villains and then there’s the hero. God scripted His plan and it is now working itself out exactly as He has willed. Do not be fooled into ever thinking that God can get caught off guard. Through the chaos of life, He has ever “T’ crossed and every “I” dotted. Did you know that even Judas Iscariots betrayal was predestined? In other words scripted in Gods manuscript, someone had to hand over our Saviour. The Arminian (the free will thinker) believers accept as truth that he has a choice, did pharaoh have a choice or was his heart hardened to glorify the brilliance of God’s deliverance for the enslaved Israelites? Think it through, you decide. I am not here to sway your decision, I have settle on what I believe. The next objection we need to address is this, “then God is unfair!” But the Apostle Paul silences that thought very smartly; “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—“ (Romans 9:18-23)    

 

How does this play out in the lives of so many that claim Christianity as their own; it’s the love of money that sways them to place their greed above the true gospel message. They twist the Word for self-gain. Judas Iscariot in a manner is the father of such men and woman. Beware of the love of money, because from such a mind-set, springs the root of all kinds of evil. True Christianity encapsulates the will of God, whilst a deceiver rides on the back of the gospel as a means for self-gain and sadly there are many who have travelled this path. “The blind leading the blind and both fall into the ditch.”

 

Christian let us be as wise as serpents and yet as gentle as doves; “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 

 

Signing out

 

Tyrone              

 

Just as...

Luke 17:26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.” 

A day just like yesterday for most, but when Noah entered the ark and the gang plank was hoisted, water started falling from the sky and need I remind you this had never happened before, vegetation was water from the ground up, that the day where God opened the heavens and then what followed is almost too drastic to deliberate, but envisage it we must, so that we can learn from it; the flood came destroying them all, save Noah and his family, who were safely tucked away in the Ark. Imagine young infants clutching onto their mothers arms as the water sucked them under, their last hope of survival snuffed, their fathers unable to save them, whatever dad tried was in vain, “if only” flashing through their minds as they watched the boat bop up and down safely on the waters. God’s judgment had found them out, exposing the issues of their hearts and they now witnessed the fierce wrath of God as they were on the receiving end. Why had God done such a thing? The text is clear; “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” – Complete defiance towards God was the issue of the day, God had had enough! He determine that enough was enough and total destruction followed. Sinful practices needed to be squashed there and then. God determine to eradicate the rot in its tracks and so he brought devastation through a flood.  

 

Let us unpack this thought for a while, think about all those that you despise, everything that you perceive to be fair and just. In spite on the fact that we (the human race) always have our judgements slanted by sin, for we are sinners by nature. We never train a child to lie, but put them in a corner and see how quickly they adapt to avoid a situation, a case in point. We always look out for number one, self! It’s who we are. God on the other hand will never be effect by sin, He is holy! The problem most have is they do not believe it. They do not see God as righteous and they think they know better, they would be wrong! Be that as it may, the potter always has power over the clay. He created the universe and has allowed us to find His will for our lives in the finished work of the cross, Jesus Christ, the man who knew no sin paid the price to free sinners from judgment. If only we would call out to Him while we have a chance. The day is coming when that option will no longer be a possibility. Just like it was in the days of Noah…

 

There is an opening and this is what we all need to do to escape God’s fierce wrath; “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Romans 10:13) – Sadly only a handful will respond favourably, the question I have for you, will you be amongst that number? You see, just like it was in the days of Noah, they were eating and drinking, getting married, it was just another day for the sun had risen like it had done the day before and Noah’s message could never be believe, but believe it we must. There is a day coming when the trumpet of God will sound, the event we refer to as the Rapture, will happen and then it will be too late. Act now while you still have the opportunity to respond favourably. Because the day is coming when that prospect will have passed. How do you view Gods purpose for your life? Is He just an aggravation, or do you want to find His will in your lives? Are you amongst the number that believe the Bible is filled with fairy tales, or do you believe what has been penned is fact? I am persuaded and "as for me and my household we will serve the Lord."

 

God could have done exactly what He felt like doing at the time, destroying mankind from the face of the earth, but He was gracious, saving Noah and his family, if not, mankind would be extinct. But by the grace of God here we stand. Arrogance of the highest order, so many people not giving God His rightful place in their hearts. But He gives more grace and offers more time for people to come to their senses. Praise the name of Jesus!          

 

Likewise, as it was in the days of Lot; they ate, drank, bought, sold, planted, and built lavish homes and with sexual tolerance as a right to their “liberal thinking”, just another excuse to accommodate sin; I detect and hear the sound of that particular bell, do you, can you hear it?  But the same day that Lot was saved out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed the city and all that lived there. Another fairy tale or not? Just before the angels saved Lot from the city, what were the onlookers trying to achieve? Their sexual orientation was out of whack, they even declined Lots virgin daughters, sexual desires and their conduct toward it had spiraled out of control; “if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked.” (2Peter 2:6-7) – The mind-set of today is tolerance, let people decide! God will have the final say and best you be on the right side of that decision or suffer the consequences.    

 

Here is the cruncher, which may affect some alive today, we may be part of the history books that tells the story of how God appeared in the clouds and saved all who believed from the wrath to follow. Jesus is coming to rule the earth with a rod of iron. The rapture will happen and where will we end? Heaven and all its glory or running around trying to dogged hundred pound hail stones and making sure you don’t step on scorpions...

 

Signing out

 

Tyrone   

Understanding Salvation

Just the other day I was asked, “How did I realise that Jesus was the answer?” The implication behind the question was how and who influenced me to take the plunge? I suppose we all play our part in leading an individual to the feet of Jesus but its God who saved, no one else can make that happen; “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth…” We must never make the mistake and think we decided to follow Jesus because of who we are and what we may have done. “It’s the goodness of God that leads a man to repentance”. He initiates the will in us to cry out to Jesus and seek forgiveness for our sins. He gives life, we do not chose life. This is a crucial fact we need to make our own. From start to finish it’s all because of the finished work of the cross that we are number amongst the saints of God, period! It took me a long time to understand this.

 

Here is a brief version of my testimony…

 

I responded to an alter call many years ago by raising my hand on the preachers request. The following couple of days confusion reigned in my life, I was tangled, and everyone tried to convince me that I had been saved, but I remained unconvinced. Then it happened, after struggling alone in a room and wrestling with my decision, reading the Bible and through prayer God brought me to a place of understanding, I was a sinner and needed a Saviour to cover my sins. Once I realised that Jesus had paid the price for my sin, I confessed and I now understood that I had been miraculously saved. The flood gates of joy opened and unstoppable tears saturated my face, such joy had now captivated my soul and I needed to tell someone the good news. I ran into the study and picked up the phone and called my travelling buddy Sledge. The conversation went something like this, “Sledge I have found the answer to life, Jesus is the answer”, there was a deafening pause of silence and then came the retort, “Huh”. He had no clue what I was talking about, God had not opened his eyes but mercifully He had opened mine. Prior to this event, we had run in the same circles and found pleasure in similar things. Why me and not Him? Why is one man saved and another not? This remains a mystery, but all I knew is God had saved me and I needed to tell the world. We cannot claimed favouritism because of who we think we are in the work of our deliverance, what was the difference between me and Sledge, I certainly didn’t behave better than him prior to salvation.

 

On further study the Bible makes this very clear and the answer is found in the text; “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  (Ephesians 2:1-9)

 

Christian we have much to be thankful for…

 

For four years or so my life had turn on its head, wine, woman and song no longer had a hold on me and then things began to change and I found myself once again dabbling where I shouldn’t and before long I was behaving like I once had, and sadly disobedience had now become a way of life. Three car accidents in a month and then in 1993 I found out that I had been infected by the HIV virus. It took these server blows to my body to once again bring me to my senses, the love of God had brought discipline into my life to wake me up, (see Hebrews chapter 12) and I thank God for his love, without His intervention I would be in some gutter somewhere with a needle dangling from my arm and begging bread. But God! My Father was and still looks out for those who belong to Him. All glory belongs to Him! There is a lot more to “my story” but time does not permit…

 

“To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.” 

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone