THE FACE OF LOVE CHAPTER 12 THE GOD OF ALL

 

THE FACE OF LOVE

CHAPTER 12

THE GOD OF ALL

What is the roll of the church as the Body of Christ? Do all churches have the same agenda? And, if not, what does God expect of the church? 

Is the church so weak and powerless that it must use politics to force its agenda? Is God so weak and powerless that He, too, must use politics to enact His will? Should we use politics as a platform to speak out against sin?

The question is not if we as servants and ambassadors of God should speak against sin, the question is why. We must search our hearts for motives, self-will, and hidden agendas. We must do everything in love, not in love of self and our own desires, but, in love of God's desires and our love for our brothers and sisters.

Yet, when our motives stem from false religion founded upon legalism, manmade doctrine, tradition, and worldly principles, we are blinded to speaking Truth, less we teardown and crumble the very weak foundation which we have built and stand upon.

When speaking out against sin, what we must always remember is that God is the god of ALL PEOPLE. He makes the sun shine upon ALL. His daily blessings reach ALL, even His enemies. He is not blessing our sins, He is blessing His creation and that which He looked upon in the Beginning and saw as good.

There is no separating church and state when the roll of God's church and the Body of Christ is to effect the state of the world through each individual. As followers of Christ, that roll begins with Jesus's commission for us to go and make disciples. Disciples are empowered by God through the manifestation of His Holy Spirit within them to bring about change in one form or another determined by the Will of God. Everyone who has joined a religious institution is not necessarily a disciple. The institutional church has not set discipleship as its primary function, which has resulted in mass pew sitters and repetitive kneelers who do not view serving God beyond their own religious needs.

So what do we do when a believer, church member, or, disciple has gone astray or refuted the principles of God? Do we create a precedent or set an example for others who might cross the line to warn or discourage them from doing so? Again, whose doctrine are we trying to uphold? Is it founded upon God? Will it crumble? Are our actions based upon FEAR and/or PRIDE? WHAT or WHO do we fear? Will the Foundation of God crumble and fall? Who is directing and guiding us? How are we using God's POWER? Are we Simonites (Simon Magus, also known as Simon the Sorcerer, or, Simon the Magician,, Acts 8:9–24) trying to buy God's power for our own trickery to gain wealth, privilege, influence, status, political power, or, to damage a rival or enemy?

For centuries the Catholic Church has attempted to cast itself as the authority on God's Word and at times it has portrayed itself as the voice of God, extending its power and authority beyond the pews of its parishioners into the laws of the land, inciting wars and legal disputes, resulting in persecution of others, loss of life, and the destruction of land and property. Those representing Protestant, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, and other religions have been equally guilty and destructive in their pursuit to spread and preserve their religion, culture, and values made in their own image and not the image of God. 

Religion, as many have come to know the practice of believing in and serving Jehovah God or other deities, is and always has been divisive. However, it was not God's intention that religious institutions divide people, but, rather that the Word of God be the slicing sword to convict and bring the lost into the fold in repentance and surrender, as well as a means of separating the sheep from the wolves. True religion is the pure manifestation of the Word of God through a person of faith. Nonetheless, we find that people have built their fortitude around their preferred religious beliefs in an attempt to define what religion is and who they are, instead of who God is.

WHAT IS SIN?

Why does the sinner think that he needs God's spoken or written word to define sin? This is indication of pride and arrogance of man that is led by his confused and confounded mind. This is evidence of a soul separated from God leaning upon its own understanding. Why does the sinner think that someone must tell him what sin is? Even if the sinner is told what sin is, why does the sinner think that he would understand? Being in sin automatically clouds our judgement. We are blinded to Truth. Truth comes by humbling oneself, praying, repenting, and seeking God's face. Often, the depth and height of our sin is not revealed to us until we connect with holiness and righteousness and see the magnitude of sin, as well as its effect and consequences on those around us.

If I tell you that gossiping is a sin and you genuinely enjoy gossiping and seeing others do the same, you probably will not want to believe me. You probably will continue doing what gives you pleasure, believing you will not suffer any immediate consequences and even if there are consequences later on, you might only be concerned with immediate gratification and the here and now. Me telling you that your behavior is sinful, is not enough to detour you from committing this sin. Your feelings and self-will have more power over you than the Word of God. Yet, God tells us that He gave us the power to rule over our feelings. We know that they are our feelings when they go against the principles of God.  This is why in order to serve God, we must surrender our will and lean not to our own understanding. We must obey God, even if we do not understand why we must do so. We trust and obey not only out of fear of His wrath, but, because we truly love God for who He is. Who is He? God is Love, Holiness,  Righteousness, and the Fruit thereof. God is the Alpha and the Omega, the root of our Beginning and our End. God is what He chooses to be. God is All-in-All. 

As children, we don't always understand why our parents tell us not to do something that comes perfectly natural for us to do. We often think our parents cruel or unreasonable for disallowing something that we find pleasure in doing. We lean to our own understanding, which is limited in scope by things such as our age, will, desires, ignorance, experience, etc. For our sake, knowing we are limited in understanding, God provides us with other means to learn and grow closer to Him.

Knowing that He would soon be leaving to be with His father, Jesus knew we needed another teacher to guide us and keep us from sin. He wanted His Father to make this teacher available to anyone who sought truth, holiness, and righteousness. So, God sent His own Holy Spirit to be with man, but, we must remember that the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity and inseparable from God and Jesus. Therefore, God and Jesus will always be with us through the Holy Spirit. 

Thus, if the sinner wants to know what is right and wrong in God's eyes, He must be born again to see, hear, and feel Truth; for even learned men can be blinded from the Truth, if they love themselves and the world more than God. We see such behavior in many televangelist and other clergy who show cowardice and ignorance when challenged by those in the world who question God's Word, which is Truth. These clergy, like Peter denying knowing Jesus, would rather save their own lives and refuse to tell God's Truth for fear of losing followers and financial backing to keep them rich and in the public eye. They are pressured by their wealth and the people around them who depend on maintaining that wealth. They have built great places of worship and a cult of followers who cannot see them or themselves for what they are. They constantly deceive those who earnestly are seeking help and a relationship with God and Christ Jesus. We must ask ourselves if God's Word is for sale. We must ask those who use the Word of God for monetary gain if God is for sale? We must question the motives of those seeking to reap their harvest from the poor and the poor of spirit. Their pursuit of wealth and status does not align with the principle and promise of God providing for His children and the Body of Christ.

As these wolves in sheep's clothing deny God's Truth, they like Peter, once again deny and betray Jesus, The Word of God. Even when they know they have done wrong, they are comforted by the status and riches they have accumulated and will continue to gain because of their manipulations, cons, and lies. The adversary stokes their pride and confounds their mind so that they are operating under false pretenses and believe that they are God's servants doing His work.

In order to maintain their status and power, those who represent institutional churches will use politics and punishment to try and keep their members in line with manmade and false doctrine. However, this only proves their failure, neglect, and disinterest in properly preparing the Saints. They are only interested in keeping their own self-proclaimed status as the authority on God's Word. If the church fails to prepare the Saints and bring in the lost, should it resort to laws, punishment, and intimidation to make people follow the principles of God? 

Recently, an archbishop of the Catholic Church stated that the holy sacrament should be withheld from public officials who support abortion rights. He was using the power of the Catholic Church to turn people against their leaders and persuade politics in the favor of the Catholic Church's doctrine. However, can our leaders just show concern for one group of people over another without offending another group of people? Should they maintain neutrality on all issues that concern religion and how is that even possible?

How can leaders govern all the people if they are only concerned with that which benefits those like themselves? If we look at the wishes of the Catholic Church, they are leaning towards autocracy and dictatorship, where one group rules over all the people despite the wishes of all or the majority of people. The preferences of the archbishop would dismantle Democracy and place religious leaders in charge of the nation and laws. This is no different from Sharia Law practiced by some Muslim countries and the Taliban and Al Qaeda extremists we fought so hard to squelch within the Islamic religion. Self-interests often blind us from seeing that we point a finger at others while the other fingers are pointing back at us for the same offense. America is unable to see that our political parties are vulnerable to the same ideology as those we criticize and oppose.

When religions step into the political arena, Believers must ask, are we about our Father's business? When places of worship began operating as institutions, outside of discipleship,  they put a barrier between themselves, God, and the people. They created their own hierarchy of religious communication and power. They became lovers of themselves and the world. In order to have their way on earth, they needed to control the law of the land. Mind you, that, God had already created a hierarchy in which that which is done on Earth should be like that which is done in Heaven. 

So, I must question and challenge those clergy who agree with the world on various issues in life for the sake of personnel gain. Where is your faith? Have you so little love for God and all of God's people that it's okay if some of them want to do their own thing and go astray? What ever happened to bringing in the lost? And, how can man alone keep people from sin? Legalism and the law do not have the power of God. So, therefore, the workings of religion within politics is in vain as a means to ending sinful behaviors. Therefore, this assertion of power and authority is not for the benefit of the Kingdom and the love of God for they contradict and negate His absolute authority and power. 

The Believer must ask, is it the roll of the church and other religious institutions to be only concerned with those people who follow and support them and who fill their pockets with money? Or, can one be indifferent and call oneself a servant of God? Can one approve and tolerate the proliferation of sin and corruption as long as it has its own house and place of worship? The Earth belongs to the Lord and the fullness therein. Do we invite evil into our Father's house because we are afraid to speak out against it? However, if Holiness is within us, do we need to adopt the practices of the world in order to advance God's Kingdom?

As Believers, Disciples, Ambassadors, and Children of God, we must be students of scripture and the past and present history of mankind to enlighten those cut off from the knowledge of God and His Son, Christ Jesus. We must point out that no period in time has been the deciding point or the defining point of sin. Holiness and Righteousness are the CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD and like Him, they are everlasting. We cannot simply condone or approve a sin because it is popular or accepted during contemporary times, nor can we be indifferent, believing man can do what he wants to do as long as it doesn't effect us. That is a lie whispered by the adversary. Everything an individual does effects those around him. As Believers, our thoughts, words, and deeds have an affect on the rest of the Body of Christ. So, we must call out sin for the sake of the KINGDOM; for we must strive to produce on Earth, that which is in Heaven; for Jehovah God is the god of ALL, even the non-believer.

I cringe when I see a religious leader being interviewed and they choke up when asked a question about sin or moral values. They are presented with the opportunity to once again set the record straight, but, they answer by denying Jesus over and over again, afraid to speak the Truth in fear that it will not be popular or accepted and ruin their career. I say career because, certainly, that is how they must see their calling, if they were indeed called, for they fail to STAND UPON A SOLID AND PROVEN FOUNDATION, CHRIST JESUS.

Sin is not debatable. The definition of sin is not transitional, evolving, or obsolete. It is finite as it is unholy and cannot abide with He who is Holy, God, our Father. When identifying sin, we must look at the ACTIONS of God, as well as the written Word, or Scriptures. God destroys a cities and a tribe because of sexual immorality that goes against His Holy purpose for that which He has created. This is the crux of the matter concerning man's sins. Man refuses to recognize that God is his creator and the creator of all that he has access to use and enjoy. Things didn't need to come with a manual because they already had an instructor, who is God. Still, man continues to look to his own understanding of things and this is why he questions what is sin and what is not sin.

To question sin is to say that God had no idea of what He was creating or why He was creating it. To question sin is to believe that God didn't know what things were to be used for or how they were to be used. To question sin is to blaspheme God's Holy Spirit who instructs and guides those who have been Born of the Spirit. To question sin is not to know the Character of God. To question sin is not to understand that God is UNCHANGING! To question sin is simply to believe that man is wiser and knows more than God.

Those who have been born again do not need to carry around a list of sins not to commit. They hunger for Holiness and God feeds them with His Word, Christ Jesus, which keeps them from sin. Those who are fed are prepared to answer the call and ready to feed God's sheep. Instead of shirking one's responsibility as a disciple to speak the Truth, or, shrugging one's shoulders, they know that they must invite these doubters of sin to become friends of God and have a relationship with Him and His Word. 

Non-believers and those who doubt God's Word often don't see themselves as having to be held accountable to the same Godly principles and moral convictions of Believers. They feel that they are being JUDGED when a Believer expects them to live by the same standards as a Believer, They don't see it as God holding them accountable and expecting them to live by His principles. Their best defense is to say that it is the Believer that is judging them. What we must know and be ready to explain to them is that although, they doubt, or, don't believe, God is still the Creator and GOD OF ALL mankind. His will for them is because of His love for them and although their feelings have led them astray, the sum of their existence and their life is much greater than their feelings and He has promised them greater things beyond the flesh and this world. How can they overcome their feelings, however great they may be? They must acknowledge that they are Spiritual Beings and begin to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh, humbling themselves to die to self-will and the love of the world. And, when they have moved beyond loving themselves more than God, they will come to know and hate sin, for they will have taken on the character of Holiness and Righteousness. They will come to know that God is the God of All and that even when they were deep in sin, He loved them just the same.

UNCOVERING SIN TO SEE THE FACE OF LOVE

God does not want us to sin because He loves us and only wants good things for us. Some may ask, if God is still going to love me the same, why should I stop sinning? God's love is everlasting, but, many of His blessings are conditional because of His love for us. God has to teach us. He brought us into this world to learn how to love and have a relationship with Him. He gave us free will because He knew that part of loving others and allowing them to grow is giving them the freedom to do so. When He created us, God planned on coexisting with us, as He did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Without His Light to guide us, we are dead in sin. This is why we must shine the Light on sin.

One can live and breathe and not be alive, but, instead, be dead to sin. Dead in sin, you are living your life in vain. Your life is fruitless and unproductive. No matter how much wealth you may accumulate or happiness you make think you have, you are living your life as if it didn't matter and has no real value or purpose. Covered in sin, you don't know who God created you to be. Unable to produce the Fruit of God's Holy Spirit, you are not living abundantly and like a dead branch, your life will be cut off. God will not give you everlasting life. Why? Because, your doubting or not believing does not change the fact that God is All in All, the God of All, The Alpha and the Omega, The Beginning and The End.

When leaders within religious institutions use politics, war, and various means and methods of manipulation to achieve an agenda, we must question their motives. Are they compromising and are they compromised? Are they led by false doctrine and clinging to the world? Are they seeking an easy or quick path to try to appease the people and please God? 

Having claimed complete authority to keep the people in ignorance, they assume no one will be the wiser and that God approves of any means to further the principles of His Kingdom. They confuse INCREASE with INSURRECTION as the angel Lucifer (Satan) did when he sought to overthrow God in Heaven. Their expectations are unrealistic and unachievable, meanwhile, they allow the sheep in their care to perish in ignorance, by not preparing them for the Kingdom and the return of the Groom, Christ Jesus. They fool the people into believing that the world will fulfill their needs and provide an abundant life. Yet, in God's eyes, they have not helped His people not one little bit.

Leaders in the world and of the world differ from leaders in God's Kingdom. Therefore, we can expect two different outcomes. We must realize that secular leaders of nations must govern all of the people and are held accountable to all of the people. They cannot be pawns and puppets of one religious body over another, whereby, they become dictators and democracy is destroyed. We simply cannot have it both ways. What is in the world is for the world. 

Believers can influence politics by making disciples and preparing lawmakers to govern wisely. However, by trying to become the puppeteer master of leaders, religious leaders compromise their faith, mislead the people, and have unrealistic expectations, as God is in control. God is the maker of leaders and nations. We cannot run ahead of God. God has proclaimed His Kingdom. We cannot try to make the world into the image we think it should be. The world is ever changing and will pass away, but, God is unchanging and the Kingdom of God is everlasting.

We, as Believers and Ambassadors of Christ, must keep our eyes on Heavenly things to prepare ourselves and bring in the lost for God's Kingdom. Unbound by legalism and laws of the world, unrestrained by the perishable flesh, we must walk circumspect, daily walking in the spirit, not by sight, but, by faith, believing in the promises and power of God that assures us victory!

By the Grace and Mercy of God and the Blood of Christ Jesus, with abounding hope 

Your servant and soldier,

Mishael