Countless developments have occurred over the past two thousand years concerning the scriptures, that we have come up with many different views of Jesus and our new covenant. Some have come because of different translations of the Bible and some have come because of the way we understand the scriptures. Certainly though, we all agree on the fact that salvation comes only through Jesus.
There are so many differing opinions and speculation about our salvation that leave some believing one thing and others another. We've had many divisions occur in the Body of Christ because of the way we view scriptures. I don't believe there's any difference in the way God said it, but rather in the way we heard it. Even during Jesus' Own time, if He said something they disagreed with or disbelieved in, then they would discount it.
I went to find out certain things from the Lord for myself when I first got saved. The same should be for the readers of these blogs. Many people say that God spoke certain things to them. The Apostle Paul wrote about what "Jesus told him" and we have only Paul's word about it. There are people today who still disagree with Paul's revelation in one way or another.
The Bible assures us that if we lack wisdom, then we should ask God and He will give it to us. James 1:5 (Amplified) says, "If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God (Who gives) to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or fault finding, and it will be given him."
Sometimes, we forget that as individuals, we each have the liberty to go before the Father and seek wisdom from His Holy Spirit. God's Word will still do everything that He ever said it would...no matter what. The Word of God will work for anyone, even if no one else believes it. God will do for one or one billion persons who will believe Him. During His time on earth, Jesus said and did many things that only He believed. Just because the others didn't believe it, didn't mean that it wouldn't work for Jesus (Who did believe).
You might be the only person who dares believe what God has to say to you, but first, you must be certain it's God Who speaks. Being unsure that it's God Who has spoken to us is what mostly prevents our entering into the deeper things of God. God isn't limited to His written Word, but He will never speak contrary to His written Word. And, God will never say one thing and then do something contrary to it.
If God says that, "All who call upon the Lord will be saved," then He will never tell you that you weren't chosen to be saved. If God said something, then He meant what He said. There are many people who over the years have been unsure whether God is their answer or their problem. We've debated with one another for years about whether God uses sickness, disease and even the devil to deal with His children. And, sadly, this battle will most likely still be raging when Jesus returns.
For my own Christian walk, I go to the Lord like James 1:5 says. I don't go to have some other doctrine to preach or to start another war in the Body of Christ, but for my own personal walk with my Heavenly Father. I remember being unsure over the subject of God's trying and testing His children. I'd heard many good men of God preach both points of view and was unsure which side to believe. I don't believe they were false prophets or that they are deliberately trying to deceive God's people, but I know they can't both be right.
I needed to know for myself which was right so I could walk before God in faith and grace. If God put sickness on me to teach me a lesson, then I'm in error going to the doctor to remove what He gave me, but I should learn from that sickness. If I'm being tested, then I need to know how and why so I can know how to study, learn and pass this test. If I don't know why or what I'm being tested on, then how will I ever be able to pass this test? The teachers alerted us about an upcoming test and what we should study in order to pass the test. I never had a teacher say she was giving a math test tomorrow and then give us a history test instead.
Confusion has nearly paralyzed the faith in today's Church. We've come to where we don't know what to believe or not. Anyone who truly loves God, wants to walk in the fullness of His truth and enjoy all of His grace. We want to know how to enter into God's rest and to trust His Word.
I once asked the Lord whether He used sickness and disease to teach, train and correct His children. The Holy Spirit spoke into my spirit using a scripture that I had to bring to the forefront of my spirit. He told me that, "This will be as the waters of Noah, unto Me." This might not mean anything to you, but it meant everything to me. I found this passage in Isaiah 54:7-9 (Amplified) which says, "For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion and mercy I will gather you (to Me) again." Verses 8-9 say, "In a little burst of wrath I hid My face from you for a moment, but with age enduring love and kindness I will have compassion and mercy on you, says the Lord your Redeemer for this is like the days of Noah to Me; As I swore that the waters should no more go over the earth, So have I sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you."
The confidence that Noah had was that the rains may come, but will never destroy anymore. Every time the rain came, his covenant with God was reinforced with the appearance of the rainbow. Every time I see the rainbow, I trust in God's mercy and His promise to me and have the peace that this judgment won't be on me again.
The rainbow was Noah's assurance that the floods would never happen again. The cross was to be like the rainbow was to Noah and every time I looked upon the cross I would know that God would never do those things to me again.
This still might not mean anything to you, but to me everything was settled for my own personal walk with my Father. I had no need to fear that God was testing and teaching me with fear, sickness or punishment. I can look upon the cross and find peace and trust for my own walk. If this isn't your reality, then this might still mean nothing. I didn't seek Him to have something contrary to preach, but to have something concrete in my life to build off from.
God's Word will always work in what He sent it to do. If you were the only person on earth who believed in salvation through Jesus' sacrifice, then it would still work for you. Wouldn't it? Of course it would. We have a responsibility to seek truth out on our own. I don't mean we should disregard everyone and everything we've been taught throughout the years, but we must discover where we stand for our own walk.
I don't want you to simply take my word just because I believe, am a man of God or a Pastor. If you believe anything, then I want you to believe it because it's God's Word and you believe it for yourself. There are too many times where we've believed something simply because someone else believed it. If it's what someone else believes and not what you believe for yourself, then it's not really faith.
People the world over are caught up in cults and diverse religions because they believes what others said and didn't seek wisdom and truth on their own. We, the Church, are one Body made up of many parts where each part plays an important part in the Body, but each is still different in nature. Although you're part of the Body, you are not the whole Body. As individuals, we are obligated to seek God on our own and to have a personal relationship with Him.
Every part of the Body is important, but every part is not the whole. Each part has it's own function in order to keep the whole operating. I know that I hold differing beliefs than others in the Body. If I find that I am wrong and they are right, according to the Word, then I will come into union with them. I will go with the truth, but not via a Democratic vote. When it comes to the Word of God, it's not always that the majority rules.
I encourage each of you to seek God on your own as well as be in fellowship with His family. We're all part of the Body of Christ and it doesn't depend on what we know or what we don't know. Some new "revelation" doesn't make us a separate Body, but an aid to the rest of the Body. It doesn't come in order to start another denomination (God forbid), but comes to aid and reveal the Light and truths of God's Word. All of us have a personal relationship with the Father, this is what Jesus' sacrifice was for. We're not to have a religion, but a relationship with Christ, as a whole Body and as individuals.
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