POINT OF LIGHT the wisdom of detail and simplicity
I send greetings in the name of Jesus:
I guess if there's a subject that I could say bothers me more than most anything that I've encountered so far in this teaching series 1 a point of light it is the idea of wisdom of detail and simplicity. The reason is that the more ideal with those people who are supposed to know the Scriptures, and who set themselves up as instructors of God's word are getting to the place that they too need to be counseled in the more perfect will of God. I listen to a message just the other day that St. my heart because it spoke of a group of young people who were taking pieces of doctrine from every where they could find that was valid to the need they had forgotten their life and adapting it to a new spiritualist movement that was leading away from the traditional doctrines the established denominations.
The idea was given that unless these people were stopped they would wreck the established faith of the fathers and go to hell. I couldn't help but think that it is probably the best thing that could've happened to the established church today. This idea reminded me of the letter that Paul had written to the Hebrews about their work in Christ as well. In the six chapter Paul uses some very strong warnings to not get overconfident in their knowledge of God's message to mankind by putting too much of their own spin on it. In fact in chapter 5 verse 11 Paul tells them that they need to be reprimanded because of their stubbornness. Many of us need to consider the things that we speak up in terms of what is of the spirit and what is of the law, and what is the custom of our time. These things get very confused when we try to wrap them all into a single act of worship. We have adapted many things into our doctrines of worship that have in general been meant to become a guideline for individual problems of church bodies, but instead have been put into the principles of worship. Because of that we have succeeded in dividing our Christian worship into so many factions that they will not even fellowship with one another. The church as it was intended to be has become powerless in the face of the enemy of God. That my friend is the exact reason for the need of the descending of the power of the Holy Spirit in these latter days that we might be awakened to the true will and purpose of God.
While this section is entitled the fading gifts of the spirit it doesn't mean that I believe that God's spiritual gifts are fading away today, but I do believe that mankind's ears are growing more and more dull of hearing. There are direct reasons for this problem but can and should be addressed by the church today but are not doing so for several reasons one will and to control. In today's world the need for us to be in control of everything we can is of utmost importance if we are to become successful. This world is changed from that of our forefathers and that we cannot trust each other. Finally the message that this world has been drumming us with about self-will and centering our desires on what we have in this world is paying off even in our church bodies. In almost every way we must concede to the desire to use some form of control in our relationship with God. To deny it is to lie about it in the intent of our hearts. Then just causes the cinnamon to become more deeply rooted. The father looks for the heart who can become completely dedicated to him no matter what the cost will be. That is the dedication of the little child, and the purest kind of because it is a trusting love. Christ spoke of that kind of when he told us what the inhabitants of heaven would be like. We on the other hand are many times removed from that kind of love and trust. I believe that if a person were to come to the point once again trusting God enough to give themselves completely over to him, they would also be in danger of execution from this world just like Christ was.
Why we feel that we must have control with God is beyond my understanding because it becomes foolishness for us to want control of our spiritual lives unless we are also ready to assume responsibility for them as well. I have not found one person after thinking that through who genuinely wanted the responsibility. The desire for having this kind of control doesn't come from us along but from an angry Satan who wants nothing more than to destroy us. We don't think of God's truth in terms of what it actually is to us in that it has no boundaries. The intent of our heart can be too easily manipulated by Satan when we allow ourselves to desire control. If we say to God"I know what you one for me, but I'm going to do it my way anyway"we have fostered sin. It is exactly what started the whole problem with Satan in the first place.
Gunn's ability to conceive truth has no boundaries, but mankind's ability to conceive truth does, and that is why we must trust God's judgment instead of our own. When we completely give ourselves over to the power of God in our life then we to become a being that has no boundaries are self-made controls, no limits in true's ability to become relevant to our daily lives. In the early church Paul had to write and deal with issues of self-control regarding the acceptance of others in Christ. The limits that the Hebrew churches were putting on others before accepting them into fellowship had become doctrinal much like we have today with the separation between our modern denominations. Paul spoke plainly in the fifth chapter of Hebrews beginning with the 11th verse by telling them that they had become dull of hearing because of their desire to be in control. The faith that we as children of God deal with each and every day is not of faith of doctrine, but a living faith that has no more goal constraint attached to it. If we dare to attempt to control the workings of this faith in our lives we cannot help but attempt to control in some way our relationship with God.
If we restrict the working and the power of this faith by controlling it through preset doctrinal rules we have automatically restricted our own growth and God's Holy Spirit and his ability to more perfectly teach us his will for our lives. Today people all over are searching for a reason for faith in their lives. They search for the answers to the belief that they have been given in Christ and yet our churches do not give them answers other than doctrinal preset answers that do not deal with the issues they deal with daily. Instead the church is allowed itself to be divided against itself and with the aid of doctrinal separation has done nothing more than cause further doubt in the minds of those who truly are seeking answers from God for their lives. Just like the Jewish leaders of Christ's time we have become so enamored with the detail issues of worship and the letter of the law and dealing with these issues just as they came up in the early church that we have left out the entire concept of the spirit of the law that Christ taught in his ministry. The idea becoming blinded by the details so much that we cannot see the main issues has been a struggle ever since Christ came to us. In our efforts to understand God we have thought the answer laid in the details, but that is true. The answer has always been in the simple truth of the gospel which Christ brought forth from the father. Most doctrine that I have seen comes from man's desire to more perfectly worship God. In itself that is a very commendable thing and yet it's only a part of our relationship with God. True worship and praise comes from our daily ability to live our lives in the center of his will. There are many ideas and values that are great aid to us in doing but one these are our drug along in every facet of our lives they quickly become a burden to us and can derail our effort to keep the principles of God's simple lives. The more complicated we make our Christian walk the more easily we can be sidetracked by the enemy in matters that don't have anything to do with our salvation. The simple way of relating to the father keeps us childlike in our approach to him and also keeps our intent of heart uncluttered. The only thing that the extra weight of untold numbers of doctrines does for us is to confuse us as to what the truth is, and that allows Satan the chance to interrupt our walk with God. The gospel of Christ was given to all of mankind and it is so simple that all men can understand it. Does not take a rocket scientist to understand the plan of salvation or the perfect will of God for their life. What it does take as a heart that is unfettered by the things of this world, and that may well include those principles and doctrines that have for so long now separated Christians from each other. We are bought by the blood of Christ but we are taught God's word by other men. Mankind is very susceptible to being swayed by the base desires of this world; things like the desire to be right, and the desire to be in control at any cost. It is the simplicity that we take for granted, and the detail that we labor over when it should be the simplicity of our relationship with God that we concentrate on the most while we allow God to take care of the details for us. God has no standards or denominational values that he gives to his children, and it is time that his children stopped clinging to them as well. It's harmful to the body of Christ, and serves no purpose other than to separate us from one another. If we are to judge one another then let it be through the power of the Holy Spirit to judge the fruits of our labor Christ, and not arm membership in it predetermine denomination of doctrine. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
I guess if there's a subject that I could say bothers me more than most anything that I've encountered so far in this teaching series 1 a point of light it is the idea of wisdom of detail and simplicity. The reason is that the more ideal with those people who are supposed to know the Scriptures, and who set themselves up as instructors of God's word are getting to the place that they too need to be counseled in the more perfect will of God. I listen to a message just the other day that St. my heart because it spoke of a group of young people who were taking pieces of doctrine from every where they could find that was valid to the need they had forgotten their life and adapting it to a new spiritualist movement that was leading away from the traditional doctrines the established denominations.
The idea was given that unless these people were stopped they would wreck the established faith of the fathers and go to hell. I couldn't help but think that it is probably the best thing that could've happened to the established church today. This idea reminded me of the letter that Paul had written to the Hebrews about their work in Christ as well. In the six chapter Paul uses some very strong warnings to not get overconfident in their knowledge of God's message to mankind by putting too much of their own spin on it. In fact in chapter 5 verse 11 Paul tells them that they need to be reprimanded because of their stubbornness. Many of us need to consider the things that we speak up in terms of what is of the spirit and what is of the law, and what is the custom of our time. These things get very confused when we try to wrap them all into a single act of worship. We have adapted many things into our doctrines of worship that have in general been meant to become a guideline for individual problems of church bodies, but instead have been put into the principles of worship. Because of that we have succeeded in dividing our Christian worship into so many factions that they will not even fellowship with one another. The church as it was intended to be has become powerless in the face of the enemy of God. That my friend is the exact reason for the need of the descending of the power of the Holy Spirit in these latter days that we might be awakened to the true will and purpose of God.
While this section is entitled the fading gifts of the spirit it doesn't mean that I believe that God's spiritual gifts are fading away today, but I do believe that mankind's ears are growing more and more dull of hearing. There are direct reasons for this problem but can and should be addressed by the church today but are not doing so for several reasons one will and to control. In today's world the need for us to be in control of everything we can is of utmost importance if we are to become successful. This world is changed from that of our forefathers and that we cannot trust each other. Finally the message that this world has been drumming us with about self-will and centering our desires on what we have in this world is paying off even in our church bodies. In almost every way we must concede to the desire to use some form of control in our relationship with God. To deny it is to lie about it in the intent of our hearts. Then just causes the cinnamon to become more deeply rooted. The father looks for the heart who can become completely dedicated to him no matter what the cost will be. That is the dedication of the little child, and the purest kind of because it is a trusting love. Christ spoke of that kind of when he told us what the inhabitants of heaven would be like. We on the other hand are many times removed from that kind of love and trust. I believe that if a person were to come to the point once again trusting God enough to give themselves completely over to him, they would also be in danger of execution from this world just like Christ was.
Why we feel that we must have control with God is beyond my understanding because it becomes foolishness for us to want control of our spiritual lives unless we are also ready to assume responsibility for them as well. I have not found one person after thinking that through who genuinely wanted the responsibility. The desire for having this kind of control doesn't come from us along but from an angry Satan who wants nothing more than to destroy us. We don't think of God's truth in terms of what it actually is to us in that it has no boundaries. The intent of our heart can be too easily manipulated by Satan when we allow ourselves to desire control. If we say to God"I know what you one for me, but I'm going to do it my way anyway"we have fostered sin. It is exactly what started the whole problem with Satan in the first place.
Gunn's ability to conceive truth has no boundaries, but mankind's ability to conceive truth does, and that is why we must trust God's judgment instead of our own. When we completely give ourselves over to the power of God in our life then we to become a being that has no boundaries are self-made controls, no limits in true's ability to become relevant to our daily lives. In the early church Paul had to write and deal with issues of self-control regarding the acceptance of others in Christ. The limits that the Hebrew churches were putting on others before accepting them into fellowship had become doctrinal much like we have today with the separation between our modern denominations. Paul spoke plainly in the fifth chapter of Hebrews beginning with the 11th verse by telling them that they had become dull of hearing because of their desire to be in control. The faith that we as children of God deal with each and every day is not of faith of doctrine, but a living faith that has no more goal constraint attached to it. If we dare to attempt to control the workings of this faith in our lives we cannot help but attempt to control in some way our relationship with God.
If we restrict the working and the power of this faith by controlling it through preset doctrinal rules we have automatically restricted our own growth and God's Holy Spirit and his ability to more perfectly teach us his will for our lives. Today people all over are searching for a reason for faith in their lives. They search for the answers to the belief that they have been given in Christ and yet our churches do not give them answers other than doctrinal preset answers that do not deal with the issues they deal with daily. Instead the church is allowed itself to be divided against itself and with the aid of doctrinal separation has done nothing more than cause further doubt in the minds of those who truly are seeking answers from God for their lives. Just like the Jewish leaders of Christ's time we have become so enamored with the detail issues of worship and the letter of the law and dealing with these issues just as they came up in the early church that we have left out the entire concept of the spirit of the law that Christ taught in his ministry. The idea becoming blinded by the details so much that we cannot see the main issues has been a struggle ever since Christ came to us. In our efforts to understand God we have thought the answer laid in the details, but that is true. The answer has always been in the simple truth of the gospel which Christ brought forth from the father. Most doctrine that I have seen comes from man's desire to more perfectly worship God. In itself that is a very commendable thing and yet it's only a part of our relationship with God. True worship and praise comes from our daily ability to live our lives in the center of his will. There are many ideas and values that are great aid to us in doing but one these are our drug along in every facet of our lives they quickly become a burden to us and can derail our effort to keep the principles of God's simple lives. The more complicated we make our Christian walk the more easily we can be sidetracked by the enemy in matters that don't have anything to do with our salvation. The simple way of relating to the father keeps us childlike in our approach to him and also keeps our intent of heart uncluttered. The only thing that the extra weight of untold numbers of doctrines does for us is to confuse us as to what the truth is, and that allows Satan the chance to interrupt our walk with God. The gospel of Christ was given to all of mankind and it is so simple that all men can understand it. Does not take a rocket scientist to understand the plan of salvation or the perfect will of God for their life. What it does take as a heart that is unfettered by the things of this world, and that may well include those principles and doctrines that have for so long now separated Christians from each other. We are bought by the blood of Christ but we are taught God's word by other men. Mankind is very susceptible to being swayed by the base desires of this world; things like the desire to be right, and the desire to be in control at any cost. It is the simplicity that we take for granted, and the detail that we labor over when it should be the simplicity of our relationship with God that we concentrate on the most while we allow God to take care of the details for us. God has no standards or denominational values that he gives to his children, and it is time that his children stopped clinging to them as well. It's harmful to the body of Christ, and serves no purpose other than to separate us from one another. If we are to judge one another then let it be through the power of the Holy Spirit to judge the fruits of our labor Christ, and not arm membership in it predetermine denomination of doctrine. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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