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By pastorbillwalden
I spent a few hours today on another blog debating the idea of God’s direct intervention in leading His children. The general camps were divided as follows:
1. Yes, God still “speaks” to His children through His Word, through revelations of different sorts including prophecy, circumstances, and through the inner witness of the Holy Spirit, etc.
2. No, God gave us His Word, and we ought not to lean towards anything more than that. Love God and do as you please, and things will work out because God is sovereign, and He is good.
That is a simplification of what was said today.
I happen to believe both of those ideas, but that isn’t the point of this article.
Some of the brethren “seemed” to base their theological position upon the excesses of “the other camp”. I won’t even mention what their positions were, or what their arguments were, because that isn’t the main point here.
The Main Point Here Is…it seems as though when we see excesses in a certain camp, it make us sure that our camp is correct, because they obviously make lots of mistakes “over there”.
When the debate started, strong convictions were given. What was revealing though, was that instead of Scriptures leading the way in the argument, the excesses and mistakes from “those other guys” were offered up as evidence “against them” and “for us”. Let me add that none of it was done in a mean or unloving way.
When Biblical evidence was asked for, the formerly “compelling argument” became a bit less compelling, and I felt, concessions were made.
I must admit, that I was challenged in this as well. Is MY theology strongly based on Scripture, or is it equal parts of Scripture, personal experience, and the avoidance of what others do?
What is the point here? Glad that you asked.
We need to be very careful to not build a theology on…
1. Someones else’s bad experiences, or…
2. Our good experiences and comfort levels.
The truth in such topics like “How Does God Lead His Children?” are not airtight, and are not, in my opinion, essentials of the faith.
We should have an opinion on such things. We should have strong opinions.
I hope that our opinions are based more on God’s revealed Word than on experiences, whether ours or other people’s.
By pastorbillwalden
It is possible to love Jesus and know Him as Savior, yet still have some embarrassment about Him. Our hearts can be divided between our love for Jesus and our fear of being embarrassed. Consider this passage…
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By pastorbillwalden
Mark 4:21-25 Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? 22For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
In Mark 4, we see Jesus teaching what are known as “The Kingdom Parables”. They were illustrations about different aspects of the Kingdom of God.
In the middle of that section, Jesus instructs His listeners to “listen well”.
Here’s my understanding of what He said to them.
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By pastorbillwalden
Mark 4:18, 19 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Jesus often taught the masses by way of parable, which is an earthly story that illustrates a heavenly truth. The parable of The Sower was one such parable.
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By pastorbillwalden
Mark 2:15-17 Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” 17When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
All men have sinned, and fall short of God’s glory, but not all men recognize that fact.
These Pharisees didn’t realize that they had just as much of a need to sit with Jesus as did the people they despised. The tax collectors and sinners were willing to sit with Jesus, and spend time with Him. The self righteous Pharisees didn’t see their need of sitting with Jesus. Read more »
By pastorbillwalden
Mark 1:9-13 It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. 11Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 12Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 13And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
John the Baptist had given Jesus much praise as he sought to have people prepare their hearts for Jesus’ arrival.
The Gospel writer Mark records John’s words.
Mark 1:7, 8 And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. 8I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
God the Father also gave Jesus much praise when He announced that He was well pleased with His Son.
When Jesus had been announced by John, and approved of by the Father, we read that the Holy Spirit drove Him into the desert to be tempted by Satan, to exist among the wild creatures, and to be ministered to by angels.
The phrase is strong. It means to cast out, to send out, to expel, to banish.
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By pastorbillwalden
Matthew 26:26-28 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
Jesus was no victim. That truth continues to impact me. As He announced His impending death, and deliberately moved towards it, I cannot imagine the enormity of emotion that He experienced.
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By pastorbillwalden
There is a great and awesome day coming when Jesus will judge the nations. It will be a day of blessedness for some, and a day of terror for others. It will be a day of perfect clarity in the minds and hearts of all humanity. It will be a day of overwhelming joy and horrible regret.
Matthew 25:31, 32 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.”
I find it very interesting that many do not consider the judgment of God to be true.
The understanding and expectation of judgment is put into the heart of man by God Himself.
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By pastorbillwalden
There is a great and awesome day coming when Jesus will judge the nations. It will be a day of blessedness for some, and a day of terror for others. It will be a day of perfect clarity in the minds and hearts of all humanity. It will be a day of overwhelming joy and horrible regret.
Matthew 25:31, 32 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.”
I find it very interesting that many do not consider the judgment of God to be true.
The understanding and expectation of judgment is put into the heart of man by God Himself.
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By pastorbillwalden
The Pharisees were some of Jesus’ biggest critics. They were the supposed super elite of the religious community in Israel, and they were sure that Jesus was a blasphemer who was worthy of death. They had personally challenged Jesus, but had been publicly corrected and refuted by Jesus. This only served to further harden their hearts against Jesus, and so they sent their own disciples to question Jesus, hoping to trap Jesus in His words, that they might incriminate Him.
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