Whether they are behind the pulpit, on Christian radio, or
television, we must understand that we cannot simply take to heart a
message due to the fact that it sounds good. When all is said and
done, what results are being produced from the messages we are taking
in? For a period of time, we may feel supercharged, but after this
period of time comes to a close, we find ourselves frustrated and
needing to be recharged. This simply should not be the case at
any time.
It often seems we will hear a message in our
time of need that speaks directly to us, but how do we know these
messages are truly from and of God? There are two ingredients that
must factor into this equation. The first is patience and the second
is using patience as we go behind those whom we may be learning from
in order to make sure what they are teaching is accurate to the
truths of God’s Word.
2 Timothy 4:3-4, “3For the time will
come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own
lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4And they shall turn away their ears from
the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
The devil has most certainly sown tares (false teachers and
troublemakers) among the wheat (the church).
Matthew 13:25, “25But while men slept,
his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.”
There are many who are among us with messages that sound great, but
as I have already mentioned, a great sounding message is not always
from or of God. We will often find ourselves seeking something to
sooth our wounds, but such things are commonly nothing more than a
temporary fix. I like to use a band-aid as an illustration in order
to make this point.
A band-aid is nothing more than a temporary fix for a cut or scrape.
It covers the damaged area, but in time, the adhesive of the band-aid
will wear away, causing the band-aid to fall off, re-exposing the
wound being covered. In other words, the problem was covered, but
not fully dealt with. This is what takes place when we hear those
great sounding messages, but in time, we find ourselves back to being
aggravated, frustrated, and even depressed. Each of these things is
not from or of God. So, why do we often find ourselves in this
repeating pattern? It is due to the fact that we are not being told
truth or gaining a proper understanding of God and His true nature.
"There are many who are among us with messages that sound great, but as I have already mentioned, a great sounding message is not always from or of God."
Keep in mind, the devil will never poison something we are not going
to buy into. He will use a portion of truth, but take it to an
extreme to keep us from being able to take advantage of that truth,
thus causing us to live from struggle to struggle. The worst part is
that these things are not always obvious. They will overtake us
slowly until the day arrives when we realize how unpleasant our life
has become. We then begin to seek answers, but are often told, “God
is in control, He is sovereign”.
Have you ever taken the time to research this popular Christian
buzzword? Do you know its true meaning? Yes, many church and
ministry leaders use the word sovereign, but that does not
mean they are properly using this word to represent God.
Before we move on, I have a challenge for you. If you own a
concordance, pick it up and look up the word, sovereign. Take
some time to complete this task before moving on.
Are you wondering why you couldn’t find this commonly used word?
It may have been a shock to you to discover the fact that this
popular word is not found in the concordance. Let’s dig a little
deeper concerning this popular Christian buzzword.
The word “sovereign”
is a popular and commonly used word in the church today. Just as is
the case with the phrase “God is in
control”, we seldom, if ever, hear
the word “sovereign”
until something bad has happened. Have you ever looked up this
popular “Christian buzzword”
in the dictionary to discover its true meaning? The majority of
Christians who use this word have not done so. This is why I have
provided the dictionary.com definition below.
Sovereign
- One that exercises authority in a limited sphere. 2. An
acknowledged leader. 3. independent. 4. Excellent.
As you can see, the word sovereign, does not
mean “in control of everything that
happens”. Nevertheless, this is
what the modern day church has presented. There are even
denominations that believe God controls every little thing that takes
place. They believe God is in the smallest of details. Any person
who follows this common path always draws the line at a place of
personal convenience. In reality, the word sovereign
does define God perfectly, in its proper context. He is at the top of
the food chain, so-to-speak,
(is an acknowledged leader) and does not take orders from anybody (is
independent). However, this does not mean that God “controls”
everything that takes place on the Earth. This includes the events
that do and do not take place in your life
One of the leading reasons in the popularity of
the common “Sovereignty of God”
belief system is that it excuses us
from most if not all responsibility when things don't go the “right”
way. You may ask, where did the word
sovereign gain its popularity? Has
it always been a word used since the foundations of the world?
Believe it or not, the answer is, no. Let's take a further look
into the misuse of this word.
The New International Version of the Bible uses
the word “sovereign”
more than any other version of the Bible. It is used 303 times in
the Old Testament alone but is not found anywhere in the King James.
In the NIV, sovereign
always appears along with Lord
(Sovereign Lord) and is equivalent to the King James Version of “Lord
God”. Please see the example
below:
Genesis
15:2, And Abram said, LORD
God, what wilt thou give
me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this
Eliezer of Damascus? (KJV)
Genesis
15:2, But Abram said, "O Sovereign
LORD, what can you give me
since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is
Eliezer of Damascus?" (NIV)
The example seen in Genesis
15:2 illustrates this point quite well.
An interesting point to consider is that none of the verses in which
we see “Lord God”
or “Sovereign Lord”
have anthing to do with being “in
control”! Let's
face it, it is always much easier to blame others when things don't
work out as opposed to just saying,
“I made a mistake”. The
Bible is very clear about the fact that our own decisions determine
how things will go for us. Proverbs 19:3
is the perfect example to use in this matter.
“The
foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against
the LORD.“ (KJV)
However,
I believe the Message Translation of the Bible puts it far better in
this case.
Proverbs
19:3, “People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does
God
always get blamed?“ (MESSAGE
TRANSLATION)
As
we have already discussed, there are some denominations who call
themselves Christians that actually believe God controls every single
event that takes place: PERIOD!
If this is so, then it means
God's will always happens no matter what the case may be. However,
the Bible reveals the truth concerning what God's will truly is when
we read 2 Peter 3:9.
“The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Obviously,
there are simply too many people not accepting the truth of the
Gospel for this to be accomplished. Nevertheless, the Bible says it
is God's will for nobody to spend eternity in Hell. Therefore, we
can conclude that the will of God does not automatically come to
pass. Jesus Himself said many more would perish than those who would
come to repentance (Matthew 7:13-14).
The Scriptures clearly declare it to be God's will for every single
person who walks the Earth to become born-again. Remember, Jesus did
not die for our sins only (believers) but for the sins of the whole
world according
to 1 John 2:2.
If
we study the Bible in the area of healing, it is simple to see it is
always God's will to heal. In addition, it is always God's will for
everyone to be born-again, but as we already know, it is not
happening. God's will does not automatically happen contrary to the
decisions of man. Many people have prayed and believed for healing,
but have not always seen the manifestation of healing take place.
Unfortunately, it is very easy to begin to wonder why our prayers are
not being answered. If we believe God is the one who controls who is
healed and who is not, we instantly begin to form an unbiblical view
and doctrine concerning God and His plan for healing. Nevertheless,
it is convenient and makes for a great excuse when needed!
Acts 10:38 tells
us that Jesus went about doing “good”
and “healing all because God was
with Him”. Jesus never told a
single person that it was not His Father's will for them to be
healed. Based on this information, we can draw a very simple, yet
profound conclusion. Hebrews 13:8
tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In John 5:19
Jesus said that He only did what He saw his Father (God) doing. If
we link John 5:19,
Hebrews 13:8,
and Acts 10:38
together, it is not difficult to see that it is always God's will to
heal. So why do we not see every person healed? I cannot
necessarily answer that question for every individual case, but I can
say one thing for sure. The problem
is never on God's end!
The bottom line is that we cannot draw a conclusion when someone
dies and believe it was just God's plan. Remember, according to
Romans 5:12, death did not enter into the world based upon the will
of God, but based upon the decisions of man. A person may
experience temporary relief when
told it was God’s will for a tragedy to take place, but it may just
throw gasoline on the fire and turn that dear one against God. In
either case, this is not only an answer that fails to bring any sort
of satisfaction, but it is also not a Biblically based answer.
Just consider the words of Matthew
7:13-14 in this matter. The majority
will always take the easy road. It is much easier to lay blame to
God (He allowed or caused my problems) as opposed to asking God to
show us what we can do differently. Remember, this does not need to
involve any sort of condemnation.
God independently (sovereignly) made the
decision to put man in control of the Earth (Genesis 1:26, 28). If
we allow what we feel, hear, touch, taste, smell, and see to
determine if we believe God has done His part or not,
we are in for a long and miserable ride. That's just the way it is.
The wrong view of the sovereignty
of God will produce passivity and that is exactly what Satan wants
from us! If
he can convince us that things are not working out because God
doesn't want them to,
then we have no reason to do anything but just learn to live with the
problem(s).
If we want to know a person's belief system we
can ask them one simple question; “Does
Satan have to go to God to get permission for anything he does?”
Most people will answer “yes”
and cite the book of Job or Paul’s thorn in the flesh in doing so.
However, the answer is “No!”.
The most dangerous part of the wrong view of the sovereignty of God
is how it flings the door open to Satan in our lives. He can steal
from us without our knowing what is going on. If we truly believe
something is from or of God,
we would be in outright rebellion against Him to resist whatever
might come our way. This a primary reason why it is so dangerous to
believe that God controls everything.
A
common belief in the church is one that proclaims God to send problem
in order to guide and direct our steps. However, as you are about to
see, such a notion is completely untrue.