James 5:12
But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.
This is an interesting passage of scripture that tells us how we should conduct ourselves as believer. James tells us that we are FORBIDDEN to swear. He rather cautions us to simply let our Yes be Yes and our No be No. But do you know WHY he says this? He got this command from Jesus who said:
Matthew 5:34-35
But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Making oaths and swearing was a very powerful thing during this time that carried huge implications. When one made an oath it was binding. One could only make oaths if one had power to perform these oaths. Consider Jesus' next statement:
Matthew 5:36
Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
Making oaths and swearing had to do with power to perform the oath. When one said 'I swear' one was ALSO declaring that 'I HAVE THE POWER TO PERFORM' what I am swearing to. This is evident in verse 36 above where Jesus said 'do not swear by your head because you DO NOT HAVE THE POWER to make one hair black or white'. Jesus is telling you NOT to swear because you cannot perform anything or cause anything to happen.
Consider our frivolous declarations when a man tells his intended, 'I swear to love you for the rest of my life', and on the night before they marry he fornicates with a stripper. He might have had good intentions with his oath and may have sincerely believed his words BUT HE HAD NO POWER TO ENSURE THAT WHAT HE SWORE TO COULD BE PERFORMED. This is why Jesus tells us to just say Yes or No, because beyond that is evil.
Consider this:
Isaiah 45:23a
I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back,
God speaks! The only one with the power to perform, declares. In this verse he tells us that he has sworn by himself. Now why is that? It's because he is the ONLY one with power. But why would God take such an over the top stance, you see when God swears it is a measure BEYOND his normal speech. Since God will always have what he says, for him to swear in addition to speaking is akin to him killing a mosquito by tying it to a lit stick of dynamite. Therefore, whatever God is swearing to do MUST be of huge importance for God to intensify his words in such a manner. Before we examine what he swears to, let us examine the context of his words:
Isaiah 45:22
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.
God is talking about saving all the people of the earth. He then swears by himself. But what does he swear to accomplish?
...That to me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.
In this rare instance on this occasion of occasions we have the God of heaven who created all with his mouth, SWEARING that every human being will swear allegiance to HIM. Will God do this? He says that:
...the word has gone forth from my mouth...
Where do we see this happening?:
John 3:17
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
Here is the word of God going forth from his mouth and what is it's purpose? TO SAVE THE WORLD! And what does the Word of God (Jesus) say of his task:
John 4:34
Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
GOD SWEARS, DO YOU BELIEVE HIM?
Showing posts with label The Power of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Power of God. Show all posts
Friday, August 12, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
To fulfill scripture
Mark 14:49
Every day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures.
I used to think that in regards to prophecy that the bible writers prophesied what they saw in the future, and that prophecy foretold events as they happen in the future. This verse tells us differently, in that, it tells us that events happen TO fulfill what was prophesied. Jesus said that his arrest and the circumstances surrounding it occurred SO THAT the scriptures could be fulfilled. This is not unlike ANY declaration of the bible. Jesus says to the disciples:
Mark 14:7
7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me.
With a single word Jesus GUARANTEES that as long as this age continues poverty will ALWAYS plague the earth. The fact that the world continues to plague with poverty is BECAUSE the words of Jesus MUST be fulfilled. Again Jesus says:
Matthew 7:14
14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Here we see that Jesus is prophesying about the amount of people who will come to the kingdom of God. Look around you and you can see that true Christians are in the lowest minority. There are only a FEW who find it; not because it is hard to find but BECAUSE Jesus said that 'ONLY A FEW FIND IT'. So the reality has to match to fulfill the word spoken by Jesus.
The interesting fact about these verses is that they are negative. These negative words spoken by Jesus has framed our reality today. We have poverty everywhere, and we preach a gospel that only a FEW will come to believe. The real kick in the head is that since reality happens TO fulfill scripture then WHY didn't Jesus just speak positive words. If Jesus had declared to the disciples that upon my death and resurrection poverty will end the world over then God would have made the world line up to this prophecy; instead we have a world always on the brink.
It easy to forget that Jesus IS the Word of God. This is not just some title but it is the actual description of WHO/WHAT Jesus is. Jesus was who God used to create the world:
John 1:3
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
This confirms the words of Jesus in Mark 14. John tells us that ALL THINGS CAME INTO BEING THROUGH HIM AND APART FROM HIM NOTHING COMES INTO BEING. This verse is the most powerful in ALL of the scriptures, because it tells you that apart from Jesus NOTHING comes into being. All things therefore that occur (comes into being) are BY Jesus. If we see wars arising on the earth it is ONLY because of Jesus that they come into being. If we see men hating one another it is ONLY because it is declared in the word of GOD i.e. Jesus. NOTHING MANIFESTS (comes into being) IN THIS WORLD APART FROM JESUS. Not the beautiful flower or bramble bush; not the softest breeze or the category 5 hurricane; not your best day ever or your worst day ever. NOTHING comes into being apart from Jesus.
Our existence is a story spoken by God and created by Jesus. All that occurs in this story has be spoken before the world came into being. ALL that we do, in fact, ALL that anybody does was determined before Adam took his first breath. ALL we are doing is living out the pattern of life that has been declared for us. We cannot at ANY time make a turn to the left or the right, all we can do is travel the path that has been written for us from the foundation of the world. To those whom God has chosen they will come to him and walk in righteousness, but to those who were not they are destined to make this world as dark as it can be so that the light of God could shine throughout the darkness.
John 1:4-5
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Every day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures.
I used to think that in regards to prophecy that the bible writers prophesied what they saw in the future, and that prophecy foretold events as they happen in the future. This verse tells us differently, in that, it tells us that events happen TO fulfill what was prophesied. Jesus said that his arrest and the circumstances surrounding it occurred SO THAT the scriptures could be fulfilled. This is not unlike ANY declaration of the bible. Jesus says to the disciples:
Mark 14:7
7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me.
With a single word Jesus GUARANTEES that as long as this age continues poverty will ALWAYS plague the earth. The fact that the world continues to plague with poverty is BECAUSE the words of Jesus MUST be fulfilled. Again Jesus says:
Matthew 7:14
14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Here we see that Jesus is prophesying about the amount of people who will come to the kingdom of God. Look around you and you can see that true Christians are in the lowest minority. There are only a FEW who find it; not because it is hard to find but BECAUSE Jesus said that 'ONLY A FEW FIND IT'. So the reality has to match to fulfill the word spoken by Jesus.
The interesting fact about these verses is that they are negative. These negative words spoken by Jesus has framed our reality today. We have poverty everywhere, and we preach a gospel that only a FEW will come to believe. The real kick in the head is that since reality happens TO fulfill scripture then WHY didn't Jesus just speak positive words. If Jesus had declared to the disciples that upon my death and resurrection poverty will end the world over then God would have made the world line up to this prophecy; instead we have a world always on the brink.
It easy to forget that Jesus IS the Word of God. This is not just some title but it is the actual description of WHO/WHAT Jesus is. Jesus was who God used to create the world:
John 1:3
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
This confirms the words of Jesus in Mark 14. John tells us that ALL THINGS CAME INTO BEING THROUGH HIM AND APART FROM HIM NOTHING COMES INTO BEING. This verse is the most powerful in ALL of the scriptures, because it tells you that apart from Jesus NOTHING comes into being. All things therefore that occur (comes into being) are BY Jesus. If we see wars arising on the earth it is ONLY because of Jesus that they come into being. If we see men hating one another it is ONLY because it is declared in the word of GOD i.e. Jesus. NOTHING MANIFESTS (comes into being) IN THIS WORLD APART FROM JESUS. Not the beautiful flower or bramble bush; not the softest breeze or the category 5 hurricane; not your best day ever or your worst day ever. NOTHING comes into being apart from Jesus.
Our existence is a story spoken by God and created by Jesus. All that occurs in this story has be spoken before the world came into being. ALL that we do, in fact, ALL that anybody does was determined before Adam took his first breath. ALL we are doing is living out the pattern of life that has been declared for us. We cannot at ANY time make a turn to the left or the right, all we can do is travel the path that has been written for us from the foundation of the world. To those whom God has chosen they will come to him and walk in righteousness, but to those who were not they are destined to make this world as dark as it can be so that the light of God could shine throughout the darkness.
John 1:4-5
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Principles I use to understand the Word of God.
Principles I use to understand the scriptures
1) God is in control over ALL his creation at every moment
- God has complete control over everything that has ever existed
- God is NOT a passive ruler but the ultimate micro-manager
2) No one and no thing can EVER resist the will of God
- There has never been neither will there ever be anything that will do ANYTHING apart from his will
- if there was ever anything or anyone who was able to resist his will that thing would be stronger than God.
3) Everything is ALWAYS as God wills it
- nothing has EVER frustrated the will of God at ANY time
- If ANYTHING arises that God does not will then that thing is greater than God
4) God IS love, His mercy endures FOREVER, HIs anger last for a MOMENT
-since God is love then that means he can ONLY act in kindness, patience, apart from envy, apart from arrogance, apart from pride, apart from rudeness, apart from self seeking. He is not easily angered and does not keep record of wrongs. These form the basis of EVERY action of GOD.
- the mercy of God is a trait that arises out of the fact that he is love and since God endures forever so his mercy endures forever
- since God Is love and his mercy endures forever then his Anger CANNOT last forever. Therefore in regards to God His anger CANNOT be a perpetual expression since it CANNOT be sustained longer than a moment in the face of LOVE and MERCY.
1) God is in control over ALL his creation at every moment
- God has complete control over everything that has ever existed
- God is NOT a passive ruler but the ultimate micro-manager
2) No one and no thing can EVER resist the will of God
- There has never been neither will there ever be anything that will do ANYTHING apart from his will
- if there was ever anything or anyone who was able to resist his will that thing would be stronger than God.
3) Everything is ALWAYS as God wills it
- nothing has EVER frustrated the will of God at ANY time
- If ANYTHING arises that God does not will then that thing is greater than God
4) God IS love, His mercy endures FOREVER, HIs anger last for a MOMENT
-since God is love then that means he can ONLY act in kindness, patience, apart from envy, apart from arrogance, apart from pride, apart from rudeness, apart from self seeking. He is not easily angered and does not keep record of wrongs. These form the basis of EVERY action of GOD.
- the mercy of God is a trait that arises out of the fact that he is love and since God endures forever so his mercy endures forever
- since God Is love and his mercy endures forever then his Anger CANNOT last forever. Therefore in regards to God His anger CANNOT be a perpetual expression since it CANNOT be sustained longer than a moment in the face of LOVE and MERCY.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)