Words of wisdom

 

Jesus speaking:

​

Matthew 7:25-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  

 

26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Man has a choice

​

​

THE INHERITANCE

​

Ephesians 1:1-23;    Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:   This shows choice 

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

​

Redemption in Christ

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

 

Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom

15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

​

Colossians 1:27; To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope oglory.

​

1 Corinthians 6:19-20;  Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s

​

Ephesians 2:2-10; Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

​

Ephesians 1:11; In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

​

What God desires for His New Testament saints to know that the Old Testament saints could not know is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The coming of the Messiah was predicted in the Old Testament, but the idea that He would actually indwell us was beyond anyone’s imagination. However, the New Testament is clear that Christ, by the Holy Spirit, takes up permanent residence in all believers

​

SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

​

The dictionary defines “sovereign” as,

1. a monarch; a king, queen, or other supreme ruler

2. a person who has supreme power or authority.

3. a group or body of persons or a state having sovereign authority. Synonyms: government

​

None of these definitions state that if someone does not obey they get sicknesses/problems put upon them.

​

2 Peter 3:9, Peter said, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

This clearly states that it is not the Lord’s Will for anyone to perish, but people are perishing.

 

Matt. 7:13  Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it."

Relatively few people are saved compared to the number who are lost. God’s will for people concerning salvation is not being accomplished. This is because the Lord gave us the freedom to choose. God doesn’t Will anyone into hell.

​

1 John 2:2;  "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

God paid for the sins of the whole world

 

1 Tim. 4:10; "For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe."

People are the ones choosing hell by not choosing Jesus as their Savior. It is the free will of man that damns them, not God.

​

Jer. 29:11; For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." 

God has a perfect plan for every person’s life, but He doesn’t make us walk that path. We are free moral agents with the ability to choose.

 

Deut. 30:19; "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live."

He has told us what the right choices are, but He doesn’t make those choices for us. "Therefore, choose life"  God gave us the power to control our destinies.

​

James 4:7 says, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

This verse makes it clear that some things are from God, and some from the devil.

​

We must submit to the things that are of God and resist the things that are from the devil. The word “resist” means, “Actively fight against.” Saying “Whatever will be will be” is not actively fighting against the devil.

​

Acts 10:38; "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." 

It was not God who oppressed them with sickness. He went about healing.   It was the devil.

Why would Jesus go about healing people that He had made sick?  Why, at no time, did Jesus say to someone "I am going to put sickness on you." 

Why, at no time, did Jesus wait to heal someone and say to them "It is not your time - you have not suffered enough".

​

If hardships and problems made us better, then everyone who has had problems would be better for them. Those who have the most trouble would be the best. When I look around at all the people with hardships I do not see them becoming the best.

​

Gal. 3:13; "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us"

In the Old Testament, there are instances where God put sickness and plagues upon people.  However, none of those instances were blessings. They were curses. God did use sickness in the Old Testament as punishment, but in the New Testament, Jesus bore our curses for us.

​

Deuteronomy, chapter 28;  “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

This verse shows that man has a choice.

 

The first 14 verses of Deuteronomy 28 list the blessings of God and the last 53 verses list the curses of God.

 

John 10:7-10; Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

These verses show that man has a choice.

​

Jeremiah 29:11-13; "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, ...."

​

Man has a choice "Then you will call upon me"

​

It is very comforting to know that I have a choice and that  God wants me to make the right one.  That God has thoughts of peace, and He wants to give me a future and a hope.  That if I search for God, He will listen to me.  That it is not God who brings sickness and problems, that it is the Devil.

​

It seems to me, that God created us to be dependent upon Him, but we do have a choice.  That  God has a plan for our lives, but we do not have to choose it. That we are not robots.  However,  If we were robots we would not need 'faith'. That would be a faith killer because it makes people totally passive when they are completely controlled and have no choice.