Are we controlling God? Or is God controlling us?
Or is it none of these?
Some people think that they will be judged by their works, which is the old covenant with God called the Law of Moses. Though some still teach it, eiher to control, or.....
The Law of Moses went out of existence at the death of Jesus and was replaced by the Law of Grace, because Jesus took all of the sins of the world upon Him..
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Some people think that through endless prayer chains that they are 'making God' (controlling God) to help them. God is never controlled by us.
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Others think that God controls everything. And that He would help us, but for some reason He does not.
Or that it is a 'lesson' we are supposed to suffer. Or maybe, we have sinned and we are being punished. Or maybe, we have not prayed enough, or discipled enough... or...
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Some people are angry at God because they lost a loved one and think that God is responsible. Satan is the one that comes to lie, steal, cheat, and destroy. He is the author of death See SATAN, WHO HE IS. God is not. See UNDERSTANDING GOD.
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Today, there are many people who do not know of the fact that since Jesus we are given Grace, and we are released from the restrictive and condemning Mosaic Law which the above concepts belong to.
Are we under Grace, or are we still under the Law of Moses?
Romans 3:20; Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight
by the works of the law;
rather, through the law
we become conscious of our sin.
Under the Law of Moses, there were so many rules and penalties,
people became sinners, because they had their attention on sin.
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Romans 11:6; But if it is by Grace, it is no longer on the basis of works,
otherwise Grace is no longer Grace.
The verses above demonstrate that we are no longer under the Law of Moses, that people became more conscious of sin and because of all the attention put on sin, they found themselves becoming more sinful because of this Law. (Romans 3:20 above). Since Jesus, we have the new covenant of Grace which is no longer on the "basis of works (Romans 11:6 above).
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We have so many Christians who are trying to operate under the Law of Moses and are performing "works" so they will be favored in the sight of the Lord. Some churches even teach these concepts.
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Under the time of Grace (since Jesus died), we are not judged by our "works". (See also 'GRACE AND THE LAW')
Where do evil and wars come from?
James 4:1; Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
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2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain.
You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
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3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
If we think that God sovereignly (supremely rules) controls everything, we are not going to have a very good impression of God. Or we just might not understand.
James 4:1; tells us where wars come from. Some people believe that God 'sends' or 'allows' wars.
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There are many Bible verses which tell us where evil comes from
(See 'SATAN, WHO HE IS') (See Also 'YOU, YOUR MIND, BRAIN & BODY')
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If we think that God controls everything, that would mean He creates wars, hurricanes, earthquakes etc, sickness, death, murder, dementia, deformity, cancer, and anything else we do not want. Then our faith in God, and what He can do, will be less than it could be.
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In the Old Testament this might have been true, but since the time of Grace, we can have the Holy Spirit indwelling us.
Ephesians 6:12; For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Satan rules this planet Earth. It is Satan that wants us to believe in the Law of Moses (where we can continually condemn ourselves) and not Grace that God has given us after the death of Jesus.
(See 'SATAN, WHO HE IS') & (See 'YOU, YOUR MIND, BRAIN,& BODY')
God gave His sovereignty (rulership) to Adam and Eve.
Genesis 1:28; God blessed them and said to them,
“Be fruitful and increase in number;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Genesis 1:29; Then God said,
“I have given you every seed-bearing plant
on the face of the whole earth
and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.
They shall be yours for food.
When God gave His Sovereignty (rulership) over to Adam and Eve, that meant they were now in charge of planet Earth.
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It was Adam and Eve who gave the beginnings of the Sovereignty (rulership), they had been given by God, over to Satan, after they had been tricked by Satan into eating from the Tree of Life (the only tree they were forbidden to eat from)..
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Since that time mankind has been giving more and more control and power over to Satan after receiving his trickery, lies, murder and deceit.
God operates in mysterious ways?
There is nothing about the way God operates that is mysterious. People often say this when they do not understand why bad things happen.
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If we are trying to mix the two covenants The Law of Moses and Grace, then it can become very confusing.
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Grace gives us "divine power" and "all things that pertain unto life and godliness". 2 Peter 1:3; His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
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How do we get Grace? First of all, we need to understand it. Secondly, we need to believe it. Thirdly we need to get the Holy Spirit indwelling us to be able to take advantage of it and all the power it brings us. (See 'HOLY SPIRIT')
How does healing happen in this time of Grace?
Mark 11:24; Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
We need to visualize ourselves where we want to be - in life or in health, as if it has already happened. If we believe we have received it, it will be ours.
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We live in the future. We are in the future. We stay there. We do not look at, or accept, what seems to be in front of us. (See 'FAITH AND BELIEF').
Isaiah 53:5; But he was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by His wounds we are healed.
Notice the wording is in the past tense.
(check out the direct Hebrew/English translation "with His stripes (beatings marks of the whip) we are healed")
It does not say 'will' be. It said, "we are".
If you are afflicted in any way
and you have accepted Jesus as your personal savior,
and you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you, and you have Faith,
you can boldly declare: “By his stripes, I am healed”!
James 1:6; But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt,
because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
God doesn't ask us of much. He just wants us to believe without wavering in Him and what He can do.
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His Holy Spirit (which indwells us) cannot help us if we do not believe. Believing means we have decided what we want and see it as if it has already happened (Mark 11:24). God never oversteps that boundary. He allows us our choice. Otherwise, we would be robots.
Healing others
You will not be able to heal others if they do not believe as it states in Isaiah 53:5 and James 1:6 (above). (See also 'HEALING FOR YOU').
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