THE WALK
PART 38

THE WALK OF REALITY

Does it matter what we believe or does God give us “credit” for believing whatever we “think” is right? Some religious philosophies teach that even if we are wrong in our knowledge and activate our faith in error, that God will still count it as valid because He judges our sincerity and forgives mistakes. I do not believe that one god is as good as another or that all roads lead to heaven. The truth is that God “Almighty” is very strict when it comes to accepting offerings and honors understanding, faith and obedience according to how they are related to His truth. It is not popular but He does NOT accept acts of faith in the name of a false idol. Those who worship false gods and incorrect spiritual teachings are not given an award for spiritual achievement. There are many civilizations, societies and cultures that have been sincere and have lived true to the laws of that particular sect, but this has only proved that we can be sincerely wrong. The intentions behind our actions reveal how we are spiritually “graded” however, the more we know, the more we are responsible for. Those who embraced the respect of all religions have become satisfied with the conclusion that everyone is connected to the “higher power” and this divine “attachment” is called universal salvation. This popular and fast spreading view believes the supreme being of the cosmos works through many deities, priests, prophets and religious philosophies to accomplish the “universal” heavenly agenda of spiritual enlightenment. This non-offensive idea is convinced that we should respect and accept all religions, thus unifying our love for each other along with enhancing our spiritual harmony. This view also considers any type of rejection toward this concept to be prejudiced, conceited, ignorant and narrow minded. While I do believe that we should love one another as Christ loved the world, I cannot fathom the idea of God accepting strange and offensive offerings of worship. We as Christians are to welcome all people into our gatherings for the purpose of uniting them with Christ; however, we are commanded to resist accepting doctrines that teach heresy.

As we study the tabernacle of Moses, it is amazing to observe the definite order and exact calculations that God demanded. This divine order of perfection is a solid component of Fathers character and a witness of the reputation of His holiness. In the Old Testament, we see that He did NOT honor all religions and the false gods and teachings of today are no different. In fact, He considered all other religions an enemy against His kingdom and made war against them. It does not matter how sincere the intention, there is a devastating cost to deception. “You will have no other gods before me. (No other religious representatives, idols, ideas, concepts or entities) You shall not make any engraved image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth: thou shall not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a JEALOUS God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20: 3- 6) Does this sound as if it makes a difference whom we worship?

Many today ask why the world suffers, especially the children in countries where there is spiritual error. We can understand the legitimate reasons, as this verse reveals that God brings judgment as a result of rebellion. The Lord may even use Satan to punish the people but whatever the method or messenger, the fact remains that error brings consequences. The world began with a small group of people who believed in God and worshipped Him, but it did not take long before many different spiritual alternatives sprouted and presented new alternatives to the original ideas of serving THE God of the universe. This is one reason why the earth groans in agony. Division creates chaos and the liberation of independence can definitely have a dark side. The result of careless free-will to believe whatever one desires is actually causing the world to crumble upon itself and will pronounce its own death. For example, we have heard the story of Lot and how his two daughters sexually seduced him in the cave, after they fled Sodom and Gomorrah. Instead of trusting God and following His perfect way, the girls trusted their own understanding and committed unnecessary incest, which produced two cursed pregnancies. The result of following the desires of the flesh will always cause a chain reaction of sin and destruction. In this particular case, the two male children became the leaders of Moabites and the Amorites, two heathen nations that waged war with Israel and killed many of God’s people through the years. When societies drift away from God’s Word, they immediately fall into a downward spiral of spiritual depravity and this is where we find this nation today. Our government failed to follow Christ!

“Take heed unto yourselves, unless you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and you create a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee. For the Lord thy God is a CONSUMING FIRE, even a jealous God. I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you shall SOON UTTERLY PERISH from off the land where you go over Jordan to possess it; you shall NOT PROLONG YOUR DAYS upon it, (continue to live in), but SHALL UTTERLY BE DESTROYED. And the Lord will scatter you among the nations, and you shall be left few in number among the heathen, as the Lord shall lead you.” (Deuteronomy 4:23-26) Having “wrong” faith (having faith in knowledge that is not true) comes from believing the wrong things. Our worldviews and spiritual convictions must be based on God’s truth or it is not divine reality. God does not honor or respect our opinions but only his Word, which is His will. God operates in a perfect system of required ingredients. Discerning truth comes from spending time meditating on Him and His Word through the Holy Spirit, and our faith is the key to starting the engine of supernatural miracle power. Without faith in the revelation of His Word, we are adrift on the information ocean without compass, provisions or paddle. Faith is knowing who He is, what He has and trusting that He will make it happen!

Believing the wrong knowledge comes from absorbing the wrong information. Selah. If we will pray to the Holy Spirit to guide us into Divine Truth – He will do it. Moreover, even if we are taught error, we can discern through God’s Spirit how to judge truth from false ideas. As we pray to become sharper in our sensitivity, we will grow stronger in our ability to detect deception and the tenderness to hear His voice. With the Holy Spirit helping us, along with our mind being renewed, we can work together as a powerful “filtration barrier” to catch erroneous, misleading and counterfeit intelligence. Living in the deception of error is a result of being conformed to the world’s way of thinking and not allowing the transformation process to evolve within our mind. When we are spiritually born-again, we are not necessarily “automatically” mentally transformed or enlightened to all truth. Studying and meditating in God’s Word comes into the mind and clears out the old thinking and replaces it with God’s way of thinking. The fact of being saved is the security of being spiritually rescued while the concept of mind renewal is to slowly change the way we think and act. We are a triune being and God wants to transform “ALL” of us. As a caterpillar becomes a butterfly so should we become completely different in every area of our life.

If we are truly saved, our spiritual identification is changed but we cannot be an overcomer without being transformed mentally from the inside out. People love the idea of accepting a free ticket to the joys and pleasures of eternal life but are not really interested in doing His will. For example, church members will dance in the aisles while someone is preaching about heaven or being raptured before the tribulation but it becomes very quiet when someone teaches about suffering persecution. Why is that? It is simple; Christians are just like everyone else in that they love pleasure and dread pain. They love potluck dinners and have wall-to-wall audiences for special entertainment but four people will show up on a weeknight scheduled for street witnessing. Most churches have a decent crowd on Sunday morning but only a handful for Wednesday night prayer service. Why is this happening? That’s easy! Because only a handful of people actually pray at all which means they are very uncomfortable praying together. Many church members claim to be Christians but actually do not know much about what that means. Sadly, most people in the church would rather be a spectator than a participator because spiritually they are on the “outside” looking in. The ninety percent have always been perfectly willing to allow the ten percent to do all the sacrifice and work. Many have never realized that the heart of being saved is an intimate relationship with God and His call to a personal obedience – NOT just to attend a corporate service at a certain time and location.

I was talking to God the other day praying and asking Him to please help me. It seemed immediately after I made the request that I heard a voice in my spirit that said, “I also really need you to help me! It hit me hard and I meditated on this for a long time. How often do we just bring petitions without asking Him what He wants from us? I passed a man holding a sign a couple of weeks ago in front of the courthouse that said, “Pray for rain”. I’m not saying that we cannot or should not ask God for His blessings but maybe there is a reason it is not raining! What about making a sign that said, “Repent from your sins”. It is time to stop using Christianity for just a “bless me club” and comprehend the reality of God’s holiness! He is angry at this nation and His judgments are being prepared because of the attitude of the people. Selah. Most of this nation has rejected God and turned their back on Him. They have discarded His Word and have railed against Him like the crowd who cried against Jesus when Pilot offered to release Him. Eyes have been blinded and hearts are calloused against God’s mercy. Our country is in a mess because most do not want God to tell them what to do and have chosen to live according to their own system of “feel good” psychology. The devil has easily blinded the eyes of the masses as they willingly worship their desires.

I am generally a peaceful person. I do not particularly enjoy conflict or confrontation. I have recently come in contact with some powerful information and it has inspired me to think more seriously about OUR part that we should do in these last hours. Those of us who are holding on to the garment of Jesus are feeling a sense of urgency. We are feeling that change is on the horizon and that it will be connected with the Middle East and our failing economy. I personally do not believe that anyone can reverse the course of this nation. It will take more than a president, senate or congress to save our country. I am not endorsing for us to stop praying, but rather to be led by The Holy Spirit about HOW to pray. There are many things to pray for but let us not pray amiss. We cannot pray against prophecy that God has already seen and verified as “coming to pass”. This world is filled with evil people and the blinded nations will gather against Israel in the last hour. I am not sure where America will be when this happens.

My question to you this day is; how far should we go to voice our convictions to society? Should we keep our spiritual knowledge to ourselves and wait for a Divine appointment? On the other hand, should we shout our views that are founded on God’s Word from the rooftop? Should we be vocal at work about our spiritual/political views and be willing to debate for what we believe? Should we study and show ourselves approved unto God about “politics” along with our knowledge of His Word? Should we publicly take a stand for what we believe to be true and become informed about what the enemy is teaching our children and then revolt against it? Are we to be quiet and just spend our time worshipping and living a peaceable life or should we be fighting against the New World Order until Jesus comes or until we are beheaded? Where do you personally stand at this time? If you have not noticed lately, the world is becoming more aggressive, more vocal, more confident and more intimidating. Are we to back off and let them have this world or are we to present our case in the Name of Jesus so that He can open their eyes? Where do you stand?