As Christ-followers I know we have all had this same frustrating experience. We know someone with whom we want to share the truth of God’s Word, but there’s nothing we are sharing that seems to be making an impression. They have their own idea of “the truth” and they’re stickin’ to it. Not only that, but they express surprise that YOU believe what you’re telling them!
Did you ever have that experience? I have more than once…in fact I used to be that experience. Prior to coming to Christ, I had my own belief system. It was the gospel of Presgrave and was founded on my own perception of “the way things are or ought to be”. I had no idea of the content of God’s Word because I had never opened the book, yet I was convinced the message of God’s love and his “gift of grace” had to be riddled with myths, distortions and inconsistencies. And…I didn’t hesitate to tell you how I felt! After all, that’s what I had heard other people say, and it was certainly outside my paradigm of rational thinking. I mean how could any rational, logical intelligent person like myself be expected to believe such nonsense? So there I was, perfectly blissful in my own ignorance.
Apostle Paul addressed this issue when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:18-20, “I know how very foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being savedrecognize this message as the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, ‘I will destroy human wisdom and discard their most brilliant ideas.” He continues in verse 21 and 25: “Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never find him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save all who believe. This “foolish” plan of God is far wiser than the wisest of human plans…”
God knew that man would constantly question and struggle with his truth and his way. That’s why he spoke the prophet Isaiah and stated: “My thoughts are completely different from your thoughts; my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”(Isaiah 55:8-9)
When Adam and Eve were communing with God in the Garden, they were spiritually connected to him. It was paradise. They wanted for nothing. But unfortunately that short-lived glimpse of God’s plan came to an abrupt end when the occupants became disobedient. They took their focus off God and put it on themselves. That was the original sin, and that’s what is referred to throughout the Bible as our “sin nature”.
Not ironically, that very sense of self-awareness is what our culture refers to as “human nature”, meaning “we just do what comes naturally”. So the chasm that has exists between God and man from creation until today is: we were created for a spiritual connection with God, but without that connection, man inevitably becomes his own god.
And how did that work out? Just look at the world we live in and ask yourself if Paul was accurate when he wrote in Galatians 5: 19-21: “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, pride, out-bursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisiveness, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties and other kinds of sin.” Now turn on the television; look at faddish magazines and books of today’s culture; listen to the lyrics of many pop culture/rap songs… then ask yourself, what is the origin of that? What produces that motivation? Is it wrapped in goodness or is it wrapped in evil??
In recent postings I have referred to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are the poor in spirit (those aware of their brokenness) for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn (willing to repent), for they will be comforted. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (longing of the human soul for more of God) for they shall be filled. These teachings are as contrary to worldly thinking today as they were when Jesus spoke them. But these words describe the heart of a humble person seeking God; one who is aware of his own insufficiency. The good news is…that original spiritual connection with God can be restored any time man is ready to surrender to the age-old proclamation: “Repent! Turn from your sin and turn to God.” (2Chronicles 7:14)
God’s proclamation is a simple message. So simple in fact, anyone who is willing can understand it, but too simple for the prideful to grasp. His message is founded on two principles that serve as the underpinning of virtually everything else written in the Bible: 1. God is Love (1John 4:8) and 2. We were created for a relationship with Him.
Did God know humanity would follow the path it chose to follow from Creation until 2000 years ago? Absolutely! We are told in Ephesians 1:4 that his plan for our redemption was in place “even before the world was created”, and that plan was to provide a Savior to do for man what man would prove without a shadow of a doubt he was incapable of doing through his own volition. His plan – his Gift of Grace – is our only solution to the sin issue, and our only hope of spending eternity with Him.
But in order to enter paradise, “we have to be Holy (sin-free) because God is holy.” (1Peter 1:16) There is only one way that can happen. “God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom. As the Scriptures say, ‘The person who wishes to boast should boast only of what the Lord has done.”(1Corinthians 30-31)
When Bob George, author of Classic Christianity, was asked, “how does one find themself condemned to Hell? His answer was short and sweet. “By doing nothing. Just keep following the path you’re on and you’re well on your way.” No doubt that is true, but unless the person asking the question sees the need to change; unless they know the nature of God – that He is embodiment of love, compassion, mercy, grace and forgiveness itself ; and unless they have connected the unmistakable dots found in scripture concerning Christ – who he is; why he came, and that he IS the only answer…it either sounds like a fairy tale or too good to be true. Then when you add to that mix the cultural acceptance of their way of life right now; a prideful, arrogant, self-sufficient attitude; and the fact that the truth is many times inconvenient to the way they have chosen to live, you can clearly see the mountain in front of you.
Matthew 17:20 gives us the answer to these mountain situations. Jesus told his disciples, “I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” And nothing is impossible when we call on the Holy Spirit to empower us to accomplish God’s purpose. That’s God’s promise to us in 1John :4: 4, “He (The Holy Spirit) that is in me is greater than he (satan) that is in this world.” We must never forget our role as the messenger. We show up as God’s representative and rely on the Holy Spirit to work through us. We plant the seeds; God brings them to fruition in his good and perfect timing. That is how we work in perfect harmony with the Master Planner.
May God bless ya, and feel free to chime in on this with your own thoughts.
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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