BeNotAfraid
September 26th, 2008, 10:27 AM
Mods--Please move this if it is inappropriate for this forum :wave
I haven’t posted in a while because I have been taking a break from the boards. The Lord led me away from my computer and drew me closer to Him than I have ever been before. In light of some exhortations made by other brothers and sisters I felt the need to step back and hold my own thoughts, words, and actions up to the light of scripture. I am so grateful to a mighty God who can pick us up and dust us off and comfort like no other. I am falling off the wagon a bit lately because I underestimate my own flesh , but I thank God for not letting me wander too far! I'm not sure if anyone here needs to hear this since I understand this has been dealt with, but the Lord has dealt with ME on this so I hope it can also be a blessing to someone else.
I want to encourage those of you who are nervous or afraid right now because of the things going on in the world, and the economy in particular. It is so easy to wonder how we will survive if things get “really bad”. We worry about where we would live or what we would feed our children. It is so easy to focus on these things obsessively and justify it by saying we are just watching for the Lord’s return, or that the Holy Spirit told us to prepare for coming hardship. We can pick out single circumstances and ignore the entirety of Scripture, or we might even twist God’s Word to fit our beliefs. Or maybe we just cling to a gray area and our liberty. We spend a lot of time thinking about how to prepare and “protect ourselves”, or maybe just trying to figure out how things will play out, and not nearly enough time in God’s Word. Maybe we justify our obsession by saying we want to be able to help others or our preparations are only for those left behind, and “of course” we are in prayer about it. We might be praying about it, but are we truly listening to what God’s Word has to say about it? Or maybe we self-righteously mock those who worry and say “where is your faith”, when our own attitudes reflect a person who is equally distant from God (see 2 Timothy 2:22-26). Maybe we mock those who seem oblivious to the economy and feel good about ourselves that we are aware. We haughtily talk about those people who don’t know how to raise their own food or can food or raise their own chickens as spoiled brats. We even hint that maybe they deserve what is coming (whatever that might be—man does not know).
I want to ask each of you two questions. First, who are you living for right now? Are you living for yourself, or are you living for God? We can’t do both. If we are saved then we no longer own the right to control our own lives. Jesus bought and paid for that right. We gave him ownership over our lives. Secondly, what motivates you? Is it a fear of God, or a fear of man?
What does God say about fear?
Psalm 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
Psalm 128:4
Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD
Proverbs 28:14
Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief
Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe
Matthew 10:31
Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 12:7
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows
Hebrews 13:5-6
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Deuteronomy 6:13
Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name
Deuteronomy 10:20
Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name
Deuteronomy 13:4
Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
2 Kings 17:39
But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.
Psalm 56:4
In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
And this is only the tip of the iceberg!
Did you skip right over the scripture? Then check your heart!!! Go back and read what God has to say about fear. He is certainly the authority on the matter, amen? Would you say to God’s face “I know you told me not to fear man or to serve my flesh or to worry about what I would eat or drink—but I don’t trust that you will really do what you say will do. And moreover, I don’t trust your judgment to provide for me as long as I want to be provided for. No thanks, I can do the job much better and more faithfully than you because I love myself more than you love me”. Of course not, you say. But that is exactly what we say to Him when we place our trust in ourselves rather than Him. When we wrestle control from God because of our love of our flesh and our fear of man. Sobering, isn’t it? Over and over God’s word shows us of His faithfulness. He miraculously preserved Paul’s life until the appointed time. He has miraculously preserved MY LIFE. He is mighty enough, amen?
I hear a lot of people say they are “following the leading of the Holy Spirit”. But we forget that God’s Word, the Bible, should be the first place we look for answers. Pray and search the Word! If God is the author of the Bible (He is) and the Holy Spirit is a person of the Trinity (it is), then the two will NEVER contradict each other. Rather, they will verify each other. I have seen too many people use the Holy Spirit as a rubber stamp for their own desires, even though it contradicts scripture.
Did the Holy Spirit lead you to store up ten years of food for you and your family? Does Scripture confirm this because God led Joseph to store up food for the years of famine? It seems to me that Joseph stored up food for an entire nation, not just his own household. And that he did so as a result of a specific dream God gave Pharoah and for a specific purpose. In contrast, we are told over and over again not to worry about what we eat or drink because the Lord knows our needs.
Matthew 6:25
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Matthew 6:31
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Luke 12:29
And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
My pastor said something recently that I can not stop thinking about. The Lord will not wipe the tears from our eyes until AFTER the Judgment Seat of Christ (which occurs closely following the Rapture according to Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.)where we will give an account of our works as believers. Specifically, the Lord is shown wiping away our tears in Revelation 21—AFTER the Millenium and AFTER the New Jerusalem descends from heaven. A lot of us will be weeping when our works, which we justified while on earth, are burned up as hay and stubble. While we will not be condemned for our sin—praise God!—that is certainly a long time to regret the things we wasted our time on before the rapture or before we die.
How much time are you wasting worrying about your bank account or your 401K? How much time are you wasting searching out information on how to preserve your assets/food/life/etc…How much time are you wasting reading the economic headlines? How much time are you wasting reading the works of man, rather than the Word of God? How much time are you wasting worrying about how to preserve your wealth? How much time are you wasting preparing for the future, a future we are not even guaranteed, instead of living moment by moment in God’s perfect will?
We are to set our mind on things above, not on earthly things. We are to be watchful, yes—but watchful with our lamps FULL! We are to be busy about the Lord’s work and fulfilling whatever God’s will is for our lives. We should be in the word and in church and in fellowship and in service. We should be discipling our children and feeding the poor and helping the orphans and widows and spreading the gospel—not simply sitting on a computer talking about it, or waiting in the checkout line at a bulk foods store with seven years worth of canned goods. Our works are the evidence of our faith! We aren’t saved by them by any means (our faith, God’s grace and the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ!), but the Lord certainly expects work of us after we are saved. Our rewards (or lack thereof) are based on them!
If you knew the Rapture would occur a half hour from now, what would you do? Would you spend that time stocking up on food for those who would be left behind or would you be out in the world feeding them from the Word of God?
Are you trusting in your own understanding? Are you trusting in man’s understanding? God’s is the only understanding that is infallible! Are you under the authority of a local church? Have you lost your fire for God? Are you letting your own cares consume you at the expense of lost souls? Are you truly prepared to look Jesus Christ in the eyes and give an account of your works?
Don’t worry about tomorrow brothers and sisters. If it is appointed to us to starve or to be homeless, then God will give us the strength and grace to endure it. Don’t deprive God of the opportunity to work a BIG miracle in your life. Our children, our lives, our cars, our homes, our money, our “stockpiles”—they don’t belong to us. We have been bought by the blood of Christ. Don’t worry about them. I’m not saying not to be reasonably prepared for things which might come your way. We don’t sit at an empty dinner table at night and tempt our God to rain manna from heaven lest we starve. We wear a seatbelt as a precaution but we don’t worry obsessively about whether or not it will be needed on that trip. And we certainly don’t have faith in that little seatbelt to protect our lives. We put that faith in God. So let’s put our seatbelts on and be busy about the Lord’s work.
Proverbs 3:5-8
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
I haven’t posted in a while because I have been taking a break from the boards. The Lord led me away from my computer and drew me closer to Him than I have ever been before. In light of some exhortations made by other brothers and sisters I felt the need to step back and hold my own thoughts, words, and actions up to the light of scripture. I am so grateful to a mighty God who can pick us up and dust us off and comfort like no other. I am falling off the wagon a bit lately because I underestimate my own flesh , but I thank God for not letting me wander too far! I'm not sure if anyone here needs to hear this since I understand this has been dealt with, but the Lord has dealt with ME on this so I hope it can also be a blessing to someone else.
I want to encourage those of you who are nervous or afraid right now because of the things going on in the world, and the economy in particular. It is so easy to wonder how we will survive if things get “really bad”. We worry about where we would live or what we would feed our children. It is so easy to focus on these things obsessively and justify it by saying we are just watching for the Lord’s return, or that the Holy Spirit told us to prepare for coming hardship. We can pick out single circumstances and ignore the entirety of Scripture, or we might even twist God’s Word to fit our beliefs. Or maybe we just cling to a gray area and our liberty. We spend a lot of time thinking about how to prepare and “protect ourselves”, or maybe just trying to figure out how things will play out, and not nearly enough time in God’s Word. Maybe we justify our obsession by saying we want to be able to help others or our preparations are only for those left behind, and “of course” we are in prayer about it. We might be praying about it, but are we truly listening to what God’s Word has to say about it? Or maybe we self-righteously mock those who worry and say “where is your faith”, when our own attitudes reflect a person who is equally distant from God (see 2 Timothy 2:22-26). Maybe we mock those who seem oblivious to the economy and feel good about ourselves that we are aware. We haughtily talk about those people who don’t know how to raise their own food or can food or raise their own chickens as spoiled brats. We even hint that maybe they deserve what is coming (whatever that might be—man does not know).
I want to ask each of you two questions. First, who are you living for right now? Are you living for yourself, or are you living for God? We can’t do both. If we are saved then we no longer own the right to control our own lives. Jesus bought and paid for that right. We gave him ownership over our lives. Secondly, what motivates you? Is it a fear of God, or a fear of man?
What does God say about fear?
Psalm 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
Psalm 128:4
Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD
Proverbs 28:14
Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief
Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe
Matthew 10:31
Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 12:7
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows
Hebrews 13:5-6
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Deuteronomy 6:13
Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name
Deuteronomy 10:20
Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name
Deuteronomy 13:4
Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
2 Kings 17:39
But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.
Psalm 56:4
In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
And this is only the tip of the iceberg!
Did you skip right over the scripture? Then check your heart!!! Go back and read what God has to say about fear. He is certainly the authority on the matter, amen? Would you say to God’s face “I know you told me not to fear man or to serve my flesh or to worry about what I would eat or drink—but I don’t trust that you will really do what you say will do. And moreover, I don’t trust your judgment to provide for me as long as I want to be provided for. No thanks, I can do the job much better and more faithfully than you because I love myself more than you love me”. Of course not, you say. But that is exactly what we say to Him when we place our trust in ourselves rather than Him. When we wrestle control from God because of our love of our flesh and our fear of man. Sobering, isn’t it? Over and over God’s word shows us of His faithfulness. He miraculously preserved Paul’s life until the appointed time. He has miraculously preserved MY LIFE. He is mighty enough, amen?
I hear a lot of people say they are “following the leading of the Holy Spirit”. But we forget that God’s Word, the Bible, should be the first place we look for answers. Pray and search the Word! If God is the author of the Bible (He is) and the Holy Spirit is a person of the Trinity (it is), then the two will NEVER contradict each other. Rather, they will verify each other. I have seen too many people use the Holy Spirit as a rubber stamp for their own desires, even though it contradicts scripture.
Did the Holy Spirit lead you to store up ten years of food for you and your family? Does Scripture confirm this because God led Joseph to store up food for the years of famine? It seems to me that Joseph stored up food for an entire nation, not just his own household. And that he did so as a result of a specific dream God gave Pharoah and for a specific purpose. In contrast, we are told over and over again not to worry about what we eat or drink because the Lord knows our needs.
Matthew 6:25
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Matthew 6:31
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Luke 12:29
And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
My pastor said something recently that I can not stop thinking about. The Lord will not wipe the tears from our eyes until AFTER the Judgment Seat of Christ (which occurs closely following the Rapture according to Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.)where we will give an account of our works as believers. Specifically, the Lord is shown wiping away our tears in Revelation 21—AFTER the Millenium and AFTER the New Jerusalem descends from heaven. A lot of us will be weeping when our works, which we justified while on earth, are burned up as hay and stubble. While we will not be condemned for our sin—praise God!—that is certainly a long time to regret the things we wasted our time on before the rapture or before we die.
How much time are you wasting worrying about your bank account or your 401K? How much time are you wasting searching out information on how to preserve your assets/food/life/etc…How much time are you wasting reading the economic headlines? How much time are you wasting reading the works of man, rather than the Word of God? How much time are you wasting worrying about how to preserve your wealth? How much time are you wasting preparing for the future, a future we are not even guaranteed, instead of living moment by moment in God’s perfect will?
We are to set our mind on things above, not on earthly things. We are to be watchful, yes—but watchful with our lamps FULL! We are to be busy about the Lord’s work and fulfilling whatever God’s will is for our lives. We should be in the word and in church and in fellowship and in service. We should be discipling our children and feeding the poor and helping the orphans and widows and spreading the gospel—not simply sitting on a computer talking about it, or waiting in the checkout line at a bulk foods store with seven years worth of canned goods. Our works are the evidence of our faith! We aren’t saved by them by any means (our faith, God’s grace and the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ!), but the Lord certainly expects work of us after we are saved. Our rewards (or lack thereof) are based on them!
If you knew the Rapture would occur a half hour from now, what would you do? Would you spend that time stocking up on food for those who would be left behind or would you be out in the world feeding them from the Word of God?
Are you trusting in your own understanding? Are you trusting in man’s understanding? God’s is the only understanding that is infallible! Are you under the authority of a local church? Have you lost your fire for God? Are you letting your own cares consume you at the expense of lost souls? Are you truly prepared to look Jesus Christ in the eyes and give an account of your works?
Don’t worry about tomorrow brothers and sisters. If it is appointed to us to starve or to be homeless, then God will give us the strength and grace to endure it. Don’t deprive God of the opportunity to work a BIG miracle in your life. Our children, our lives, our cars, our homes, our money, our “stockpiles”—they don’t belong to us. We have been bought by the blood of Christ. Don’t worry about them. I’m not saying not to be reasonably prepared for things which might come your way. We don’t sit at an empty dinner table at night and tempt our God to rain manna from heaven lest we starve. We wear a seatbelt as a precaution but we don’t worry obsessively about whether or not it will be needed on that trip. And we certainly don’t have faith in that little seatbelt to protect our lives. We put that faith in God. So let’s put our seatbelts on and be busy about the Lord’s work.
Proverbs 3:5-8
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.