James 1:5-8 (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 reproach or fault finding, and it will be given him. Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitation, no doubting); For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything he asks for from the Lord. For being as he is a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute) he is unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything he thinks, feels, decides."
The Holy Spirit assures us in the above scripture, that if we lack Wisdom concerning what we're to do or what God's will is, then we are to ask Him for Wisdom. Paul prayed for the Church (the Church in Colossians, as well as all brethren who love the Lord) in Colossians 1:9 (Amplified),where the Holy Spirit inspired him, saying, "For this reason we also, from the day we heard of it (our love) have not ceased to pray and make special request for you, asking that you may be filled with the full, deep, clear, knowledge of His will in all Spiritual Wisdom, in comprehension into the ways and purposes of God, and in understanding and discernment of Spiritual things."
The largest display of the Church's being double-minded today, is our not knowing where the trials we face come from and from Whom our blessings flow from. The deceiver has brought doubt and indecision into the Church, leaving us being like James says, "Blown hither and thither, like waves at sea in the wind." Most of the new creation believers I've spoken with, have been indoctrinated with a religious and worldly Image of our Heavenly Father. That leaves them not knowing how to react, when trails come their way.
If it comes from God, then we're supposed to submit to it. If it comes from the devil, then we are supposed to resist it. If we don't know where it comes from, then we're left open to the deceiver. God wants us to know His will on earth. Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven." Even if we didn't know whether or not something was "God's will," then we could surely say whether or not that's how Heaven operates. Right? How many sick people, do you think there are in Heaven? How many lame, blind, sick, depressed, hungry, homeless, or naked people do you think there are in Heaven?
Do you believe that your loved ones, who have gone before you into God's Presence, are sick, homeless or hungry? It's easier to say, "It must be God's will for me to be sick in this life," than to walk in faith. Satan goes about "as a roaring lion, seeking to devour" and he does it with lies. Staying outside the Truth of God's Word, leaves people with no defense against satan's lies.
Just because you have trials and trouble, doesn't mean you are out of God's will. It certainly doesn't mean that God is testing your faith, like some would say. Jesus singularly met more trouble, than the combined Church has endured. Jesus didn't have trials, because "He was out of God's will!" Satan brought these things against Him, in order to deceive Jesus into destruction. When facing these strategies of satan, Jesus didn't sit down and wonder, "Are these from God or satan?" Jesus simply answered, "IT IS WRITTEN."
We are supposed to know God's will. This is Truth. I might not know what God's Personal will is for each individual, but I do know it's not for that person's destruction. Every person in the Body of Christ, is part of God's new creation family, but we're each individually unique, in our lives and ministry. It was God's will for me to move my family from Illinois to New York, but that might not be His will for you. God's will for you might be to come to the place He called me to build and learn what His will is for you. The one thing I know about God's will for all of us is, we are to ask the Holy Spirit for Wisdom to walk in His Presence, in liberty and at all times.
Jesus didn't die and be raised from the dead for only "some of us," but for "all of us." If Jesus took my sin, then He also took yours. If Jesus healed my body by His stripes, then He did this for you too. If Jesus bore the Curse of the Law for me, then He did it for you too. Jesus didn't do these things for "certain people." He did these things for everyone. When we are double-minded, believing Jesus did these for some and not for others, that doesn't change the fact that this has always been God's will for all His children. Jesus died so that, "All may live." Everything Jesus did was for all of us, but some don't understand (or might not know) this and are double-minded concerning this, because of errant teaching and doctrine. James 1:7 says, "Let not this man think he will receive anything from the Lord."
Many of the teachers coming from seminary and Bible colleges, have learned from denominational teachings. Generations have been taught from these people and have only learned from them. The denominations have been built from the differing teachings. Many times, people who wish to teach from revelation knowledge that is contrary to denominational teachings, are asked to step down from their position in the church.
Satan has held on tight to what is believed, by what is being taught. Romans 10:17 (Amplified) says, "So faith comes by hearing what is told, and what is heard comes by the preaching of the Message that came from the lips of Christ, the Messiah Himself."
Faith comes by hearing, so if satan can determine what's being preached, then he can determine how much faith people can come into, in their redemption. If we hear something long enough (whether or not it's correct), then we will put our faith in it. If you're being taught that, "God is using trials and tribulations to teach you," then you will place your faith in that and believe it. Faith comes by hearing.
Did you ever wonder why Jesus said in Mark 4:23-24 (Amplified) that, "If any man has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him comprehend. And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing, The measure of thought and study you give to the Truth you hear, will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that comes back to you-and more besides will be given to you who hear."
Notice that, the only measure that God will bring back to you, is according to the Truth you hear." He won't measure virtue and knowledge to you, according to anything else you're hearing. If you're hearing doctrines of carnal-minded men, then there is no virtue and knowledge in it to "measure back."
Jesus preached in parables in Mark 4:11 (Amplified) saying, "To you has been entrusted the Mystery of the Kingdom of God, that is the secret counsels of God which are hidden to the ungodly, but for those outside of our circle, everything becomes a parable." Some will read this parable, without seeing or hearing the secret counsel and the hidden Mystery of the Kingdom of God.
It's nearly impossible to walk in the ways of God, in the manner most believers wish to, without knowing the will of God. If you believe that God puts sickness on you, in order to teach you something, then you're on your own and limited to only the world's way of dealing. If you truly believe a sickness was God's will for you, then why would you visit the doctor and try to get out of God's will for your life? This might be the zenith of being double-minded. If it's God's will, then why would you even take medicine or go to the doctor to get well?
We truthfully, don't believe this, but it's the path of least resistance. Of course, go to the doctors and take the prescribed medicine. Don't just suffer or die. But, while you're recovering, get into God's Word, seek God's will and Wisdom for your life. Get into the real will of God, for your life. Sickness and disease came with the devil. Healing comes from Jesus. When we don't understand God's will and the depth of His Love for us through Jesus, we get caught up in the affairs of the world. There are some who would reject any teaching about "healing," because they believe we're saying, "They're not good Christians or don't love God."
I'm not questioning their love and devotion for the Lord, only what they're hearing and putting their faith in. Most of us didn't know there was so many differences in preaching, when we got saved and born-again. Otherwise, we would have heeded Jesus' Word to "Be careful what we were hearing." We were babies, who didn't know "what we were hearing." Having grown-up in a certain teaching, it was hard for us to train our faith in the Truth of the Word.
Jesus dealt with this in His ministry. The people were trained under the Law and didn't want to hear His Words of Grace. Satan's used this since the beginning and it continues to work. Our pride gets bruised and our egos hurt, when someone tells us something that goes against our faith. Our pride doesn't want us to turn loose of the things we've heard and been taught. The teachers of Jesus' time fought so diligently to hold onto their faith in the Law, that they killed anyone who opposed it. Religion and traditions are hard to oppose, even by Truth.
These teachers loved God (like many today) and were Loved by God, but they simply didn't heed what they heard. Today, we're seemingly always searching for new revelation, without always searching out where it came from.
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