2Corinthians 5:17-18 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come. But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself (received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself) and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation (that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him)."
We seem to disagree with one another or we simply don't understand that God needs a person with faith (to believe Him), in order to fulfill, complete, and have His will manifest on this earth. If God could do anything He wanted and anytime He wanted, then He would simply make every person get saved, then we could forgo the millennium and have this whole thing done with. We know what God's will is, from His Word. 2Peter 3:9 (Amplified) says, "The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance."
The above scripture tells us that, God's will is that "all should be saved," but there are many unsaved people existing on earth today and many, many more people who died while unsaved. Why didn't God simply make us get saved? Why would He even need anyone to preach the Gospel? Why is anyone bothering to pray, if God was going to do whatever He wanted anyway?
What we deem, "Thy will be done," has become nothing more than a religious denial of faith and responsibility, for Christians. We have decided what His will is, which has led to the true will of God, not being done. We continue to "send" the Holy Spirit, like He's our "Messenger boy," instead of going ourselves. Then, we've excused our failures, by saying, "It must be God's will."
This is the very thing that displeased and angered the Lord, when the Israelites came out of bondage from Egypt. They wouldn't believe God to do what He wanted and what He said. In order to relieve their consciences, the people placed all blame and responsibility on Moses and they blamed their lack of trust on him. If the Israelites had no water, then they blamed Moses for bringing them out of Egypt and leaving them without water. They grumbled and limited God, with their unbelief. It was only God's grace, that prevented their being destroyed.
Jesus never lacked results while performing miracles and healings, except when He was limited by the people's unbelief. Jesus was constantly reaching out and trying to get the people to believe Him and God. Since Jesus knew and yielded to God's will, there were no limits put on His faith. Jesus knew it was God's will to heal, God was never limited in expressing His will through Jesus. We make excuses about our unbelief and why their are no signs following us. We say, "Oh, it must not be God's will for so-and-so to get healed," when our will wasn't submitted to God's will of healing. We concoct religious alibis, in order to conceal our unbelief. We use these alibis in praying, healing, in performing miracles and even walking in love and unity with one another.
We have limited the promises of God by human reasoning and cause the Word of God to "be of no effect," just like the Iraelites in the Wilderness. We don't come right out and say, "God cannot do it," but we leave it for others to go forth in faith. Can God do what He says? Of course He can, but what gets done and who does it, depends more on us rather than it does on Him. With God "All things are possible." Right?
Mark 16:15-18 (Amplified) says, "And [Jesus] said to them, Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the Good News (the Gospel) to every creature (of the whole human race). He who believes (who adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him Who it sets forth) and is baptized will be saved (from the penalty of eternal death) but he who does not believe (who does not adhere to, and trust in, and rely on the Gospel and Him Who it sets forth) will be condemned. And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe; in My Name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; They will pick up serpents, and (even) if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them, They will lay their hands on the sick and they will get well."
Notice, that only "those who believe, will do these things." What about those who do not believe? These things will not work or operate in their lives. Is it God's will for their not doing these things? NO!! It is their will or lack of belief in God's ability, that won't allow these things to function in their lives.
This is the exact scenario that played out in the Wilderness, when the people limited the Holy One of Israel. The people refused to believe God, and by so doing, God was limited in what He wanted to do. We're so self-conscious of what others might believe or think about us, we've become so very careful not to be seen as foolish. Our pride blinds our faith and makes God impotent in our lives. We've limited God from showing Himself in His True Person, to the world. We've only portrayed a religious idea of an Almighty and Living God, to the world.
Religion always confines God to our personal limits. We've never seem to understand that God lives in us and that it's not us, but "the Father in us, Who does the work." Jesus never gave Himself over to what others thought, but only what the Father thought. He never judged Himself on His Own merits, but only by the Greater One, Who lived in Him. We need to erase all the old teachings and the images others taught us that God is. We need to see Him today, in our lives. We must stop comparing God to past times and receive Him as He is now. We need to confess and believe that, "Greater is He Who is in me, than he who is in the word."
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