D
DonKeesee
Guest
[FONT=Gisha, sans-serif]After Jesus brought Lazarus back from death (John 11), a big shaking comes in Israel. God has come in the flesh. He has become a man. And now He is about to do the main thing He came to do. The Father has manifested His power very strongly through the Son. Many signs came before, but the raising of Lazarus after he had been dead for four days appears to be the greatest of all so far (though an infinitely greater Resurrection is just around the corner). This mighty sign of raising Lazarus from death has rocked the nation.[/FONT]
[FONT=Gisha, sans-serif]When God's power comes, people choose sides. It just happens that way. One either falls on the stone or is crushed by it (Luke 20:18), crushed not because God wants to crush people but because His protection comes with staying close to Him, not running from Him. The world has been a very savage place since the Fall, and the only protection is under the cover of God's care. And when one chooses to move out of the Father's protection, how can He be blamed for this? The only way He could be blamed would be if He had created us as robots and then forced us to leave His care, which He did not do and will not do. He is the Good Shepherd, the Good Father. He wants good for us, not evil.[/FONT]
[FONT=Gisha, sans-serif]When people choose sides, at least some of them move strongly to one side or the other. Some people want to kill Him, but some fulfill Scripture and proclaim Him as who He is, the Messiah. They throw down palm branches and their cloaks and say, “Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord,” an act indicating they they see Jesus as the Messiah. This is what was historically done for a king riding into the city in victory, and the verse from which it comes (Psalm 118:26) is Messianic in nature. (Still, how many of even these people reject Jesus later, we do not know.)[/FONT]
[FONT=Gisha, sans-serif]Now things are incredibly shaken up. The power of God coming to earth tends to have this sort of effect. It did so then and does so now. The Pharisees and Chief Priests believe that they must act. And they do, bringing up ridiculous charges that nevertheless work in that they do get Jesus killed. But do these people really accomplish their goal of stopping this movement? Of course not. Jesus' victory over them becomes total with the Resurrection. Acting against God is an extremely futile thing, yet the Chief Priests and Pharisees do it with a flourish. Sadly, many of these people will be crushed by the stone, not fall upon it. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Gisha, sans-serif]Is it possible that God is doing good things that are shaking up our world because we don't know whether or not they are of Him or not? Could we be actually fighting God because what He is doing through people does not fit with our particular spiritual philosophy (which sometimes can come from religious tradition and not the Bible)? If so, what are our chances of succeeding in such folly in the long run? Nil.[/FONT]
[FONT=Gisha, sans-serif]But we are believers and surely do not wish to fight God's works anyway. So what should be do? Get real discernment from God. He freely gives it if we open up our spirits to Him in faith. Simple doubt of this or that is not discernment. It is doubt, which is a terrible thing to use to discern whether something is of God or not. Doubt seems to be what the leaders of Israel used to determine whether or not Jesus was the Messiah. Didn't work. It never will. Spiritual discernment from God is what does work. We need to seek it, letting God give more and more of it to us. (Our church put up an audio connected to this subject at RanLives.com.)[/FONT]
[FONT=Gisha, sans-serif]When God's power comes, people choose sides. It just happens that way. One either falls on the stone or is crushed by it (Luke 20:18), crushed not because God wants to crush people but because His protection comes with staying close to Him, not running from Him. The world has been a very savage place since the Fall, and the only protection is under the cover of God's care. And when one chooses to move out of the Father's protection, how can He be blamed for this? The only way He could be blamed would be if He had created us as robots and then forced us to leave His care, which He did not do and will not do. He is the Good Shepherd, the Good Father. He wants good for us, not evil.[/FONT]
[FONT=Gisha, sans-serif]When people choose sides, at least some of them move strongly to one side or the other. Some people want to kill Him, but some fulfill Scripture and proclaim Him as who He is, the Messiah. They throw down palm branches and their cloaks and say, “Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord,” an act indicating they they see Jesus as the Messiah. This is what was historically done for a king riding into the city in victory, and the verse from which it comes (Psalm 118:26) is Messianic in nature. (Still, how many of even these people reject Jesus later, we do not know.)[/FONT]
[FONT=Gisha, sans-serif]Now things are incredibly shaken up. The power of God coming to earth tends to have this sort of effect. It did so then and does so now. The Pharisees and Chief Priests believe that they must act. And they do, bringing up ridiculous charges that nevertheless work in that they do get Jesus killed. But do these people really accomplish their goal of stopping this movement? Of course not. Jesus' victory over them becomes total with the Resurrection. Acting against God is an extremely futile thing, yet the Chief Priests and Pharisees do it with a flourish. Sadly, many of these people will be crushed by the stone, not fall upon it. [/FONT]
[FONT=Gisha, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Gisha, sans-serif]Is it possible that God is doing good things that are shaking up our world because we don't know whether or not they are of Him or not? Could we be actually fighting God because what He is doing through people does not fit with our particular spiritual philosophy (which sometimes can come from religious tradition and not the Bible)? If so, what are our chances of succeeding in such folly in the long run? Nil.[/FONT]
[FONT=Gisha, sans-serif]But we are believers and surely do not wish to fight God's works anyway. So what should be do? Get real discernment from God. He freely gives it if we open up our spirits to Him in faith. Simple doubt of this or that is not discernment. It is doubt, which is a terrible thing to use to discern whether something is of God or not. Doubt seems to be what the leaders of Israel used to determine whether or not Jesus was the Messiah. Didn't work. It never will. Spiritual discernment from God is what does work. We need to seek it, letting God give more and more of it to us. (Our church put up an audio connected to this subject at RanLives.com.)[/FONT]
