Romans
2Corinthians 5:16-17 (Amplified) says, "Therefore if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether)."
The Word of God has never failed us and we are indeed new creatures in Christ, however, we haven't been taught how this new creation being is to live. We've performed much like the people of Numbers 13-14, listening to those who taught what they believed, instead of of listening to those who taught what God said. There were ten men sharing the things they saw and encountered in the Land of Canaan and there were two men who repeated what God said about this Promised Land. If you read the response of the people they spoke to, then you will find that the congregation was angry at Moses and Aaron for "lying" to them and making them believe they could take the land.
Thus, Numbers 14:10 (Amplified) saying, "But all the congregation said to stone (Joshua and Caleb) with stones." The people had two choices of who to receive information from about Canaan. One choice would be to listen to the Word of the Lord and the other choice was listening to the word of man's reasonings. The crowd chose to listen to the ten men who said, "We are like grasshoppers in the sight of those living in Canaan," instead of heeding the word of Joshua and Caleb, who had faith in God's Word. They all agreed that the promise of the land of plenty was true and they agreed they were unable to "take the Land."
Today's Church is doing the exact same thing. We find healing scriptures, scriptures about being righteous through Jesus and many other promises in the Word, yet congregations are crying because someone reported, "We are unable to take the Land." And like the Israelites, we find some in the Church who are willing to stone those like Joshua and Caleb who say, "We are well able to take the Land."
The group of ten men didn't deny that what God said about the land was true, but they said they couldn't do it. Joshua and Caleb said that everything God states was true and that, "We are well able to conquer it," in Numbers 13:30. There are two sources of direction in the Church. One source is the Word by the Spirit and the other is the Word by man's reasonings. It might be the same Word, but the source of our believing is altogether different. When we allow the Holy Spirit to direct us, we can have faith to proceed, but when man's reasoning is directing us, we can see only "giants in the Land."
All the spies who entered Canaan, only had God's promise to go on. They had never seen the land or the giants who resided there. Those who had heard the promise, saw the Land and returned with their own opinion of the promise, they stopped all of the congregation with their opinion of God's promise. We witness this same thing happening in today's Church. There are many voices speaking to this Last Days Church. Some are trying to rally the Church and take the land, while some only see the giants.
Even the suggestion of our being a new creation that is able to take the Land through God, can cause some to scream out for "stoning." Our minds have become so conformed to the world's way of thinking, we forget we have a super-natural Father. It was only by faith in God's Word, that allowed Joshua and Caleb to see past the giants and see God's Promised Land.
Both the giants and God's promises are still the same today. Some have their vision blocked by the giants and cannot see past them. We put off the promises of God for another people or another time, while the main part of the people remain in the wilderness. I find that it depended more on what the leadership said about the promises, than what the promise itself said.
Romans 10:17 tells us that, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Let's say it differently: "Faith in God, comes by hearing what God has said." Faith doesn't come from what I think about what God has said.
I'm not sure if I've stated this previously, but it bears repeating anyhow. There was a city in Eastern Europe committed to building a zoo. They had some animals already, but they really desired to have a Giant Kodiac bear in the zoo. While they were waiting for the capture of a Giant Kodiac, they build a beautiful place for him to reside. They built a place for the bear that exactly resembled his natural habitat and knew the bear would call it "home" and be happy.
The bear was captured and delivered to the zoo, but his home wasn't quite complete. Since they didn't have a place for the bear, he was to be left in a cage until his home was finished. So, the caged Giant Kodiak could only walk as far as the cage would allow. He began walking the length of the cage, turned around and repeated the process. He could only walk fifteen paces one way, turn and walk fifteen paces back. The poor bear did this until the pads of his feet were raw and bleeding.
Finally the beautiful home was finished and the bear's cage was placed in the middle of the land with his cage door opened. The zookeepers waited excitedly for the bear to exit his cage and examine his new home, but he only raised his head, looked out, and walked fifteen paces one way and fifteen paces the other way. The zookeepers prodded the bear with a cow prod, to no effect. The bear refused to leave his cage, even though he was surrounded by large meadows, bubbling streams and a great expanses of land. "You're free," the crew encouraged the bear, but he only walked fifteen paces one way and fifteen paces back. The bear did this so long, that he created a groove in the ground that was nearly six inches deep. Sadly, the zookeepers euthenized their beautiful bear, because he wouldn't leave the cage and kept pacing. The cage, though, was only in his mind. He had been set free and the door to his release had been opened, but his mind kept him in bondage.
Many Christians remain in bondage because of our unrenewed minds. We delve into the Word and see the beauty of all that lies ahead of us, but we remain in the mental cage of who we were before being saved. If you've made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, then you are already a new creation. All of the promises God made for His family, are already ours. We try to believe in our hearts to receive the liberty God has placed before us, but in our minds, we remain in captivity.
No comments:
Post a Comment