Sunday, October 8, 2017, 8:55 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Power of The Cross.” Speak, Lord, your
words to my heart. I read Isaiah 43:8-13
(NASB).
Bring out the people who are blind, even though they
have eyes,
And the deaf, even though they have ears.
All the nations have gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled.
Who among them can declare this
And proclaim to us the former things?
Let them present their witnesses that they may be
justified,
Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
“I, even I, am the Lord,
And there is no savior besides Me.
“It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God.
“Even from eternity I am He,
And there is none who can deliver out of My hand;
I act and who can reverse it?”
Eyes and Ears
People who are blind, for the
most part, have physical eyes. They just can’t see out of them, because their
eyes are defective in some way. The same is true with those who are deaf. They
have ears, but they just can’t hear out of them, because their ears are
malfunctioning. Yet, this is not talking about the physically deaf and blind,
but concerning the spiritually deaf and blind. It isn’t that they can’t see
(have understanding) or that they can’t hear (perceive and learn), but it is
that they choose not to (Ro. 1:18-32). Their spiritual eyes and ears are
defective (malfunctioning) because of willful sin and/or stubborn rebellion
against God. Yet, sadly enough, some of these deaf and blind claim to know God
and/or to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of their lives.
In other words, these deaf
and blind have knowledge of God and/or of his Word and/or they have heard some
form of the gospel preached with their physical ears. Some of them have even
grown up in the gatherings of the church, i.e. they have attended church
gatherings possibly from birth to adulthood. They, if they have confessed
Christ as Savior, may even be in possession of a Bible, or of multiple Bibles,
and they are quite free to read it, at will. Some of them may even have Bible
college or seminary degrees, and a few of them may even be pastors and elders
of local congregations. You don’t have to be ignorant of God to be blind. Some
of the blind have massive Biblical (head) knowledge. They just have never
applied it to their hearts.
So, this is the difference
between the blind and the one seeing, or the deaf and the one hearing. The one
has the knowledge, but lets it go in one ear and out the other, or else he uses
that knowledge strictly for intellectual purposes. The other, the one seeing
and/or hearing, has no more advantage than the blind and the deaf. He just does
what the Word says, instead of walking away from the mirror, forgetting what he
looks like (Jas. 1:22-25). Our God is not satisfied with us merely knowing his
Word, but he requires that we obey his Word by doing what it says. His
salvation for us is not just so we can be forgiven our sins and have the hope
of eternity with God in heaven, but he died that we might die to sin and live
to righteousness. He saved us not just out of the punishment of sin, but out of
addiction to sin.
False gods
This is a call of God to
assemble all the deaf and blind (spiritually), who have ears to hear but don’t
listen, and who have eyes to see but do not receive. The call is to examine
their idolatrous ways and to account for them and for their idols (the gods of
men). What good are they? Are they able to save, bring healing and deliverance,
or bring perfect peace, fulfillment and joy everlasting? Are they able to lead
and guide in the ways of God, and in his righteousness? Or, are they useless,
but more than useless, but do they, instead, bring you down, trap you, steal
your joy, lead you into sin, ruin your life, and destroy your relationships
with others? And, lead you to hell?
So many people, including
Christians (or professing Christians) are led down a path of self-destruction
or complacency, regarding spiritual matters, because they are following after
their own fleshly desires, and because they are followers of humans rather than,
or over and above being followers of God. So, their itching ears want to hear
messages which tell them that all they have to do is just accept Jesus’
forgiveness of their sins, and now they are guaranteed heaven when they die, and
their spiritual maturity is wholly in the hands of God, and they have nothing
to do with it at all. Nothing is required of them – no repentance, obedience or
submission to Christ Jesus.
So, what good is salvation to
them then? If we are not saved out of slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin, then
we aren’t really saved, because we are still dead in sins, walking according to
the flesh, and not according to the Spirit. For, the Bible teaches that if we
walk (in lifestyle, in practice) in sin, we don’t have the promise of heaven
when we die, but a fearful expectation of judgment and of eternity in hell, no
matter what prayers we prayed to receive Christ and his forgiveness of our sins
(See: Lu. 9:23-26; Ro. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Jn. 1:5-9). So, don’t be fooled!
Don’t listen to those liars and deceivers who are telling you that God requires
nothing of you other than to accept Jesus’ forgiveness of your sins, and who
say that heaven is guaranteed you, no matter what. Read God’s Word, and believe
and follow the truth!! Your life and eternity depend on it!
No Other God
Our God – Father, Son (Jesus
Christ), and Holy Spirit - the creator of the universe and all living things,
is the one and only true God. His written Word can be found in the Bible
(Genesis to Revelation). This is where we will find truth and righteousness and
God’s plan for our lives and his purposes and will for each one of us. Though
there are godly men and women in this world who are teaching the truth, as best
as they understand it, there are many more who are teaching outright lies,
half-truths (lies) or who are twisting the truth (lies) to their own advantage,
but to your demise. It may sound good, especially to itching ears, but it isn’t
good, and so we must be very discerning so that we don’t get trapped and
tripped up by such deceptions.
There is no savior (rescuer) besides
the one true God. No drugs, alcohol, TV shows, movies, recreation, games,
sports, automobiles, houses, lands, possessions, fame, or fortune, and no human
being dead or alive can save you from hell and bring you into God’s wonderful
kingdom. They will never fulfill the deep longings of your soul, which God put
within you for him alone, but they will leave you empty, dissatisfied, unfulfilled,
always craving more and more, hoping the next time will bring you happiness,
but more times than not these idols only kill and destroy, ruin entire
households, lead people to suicide, and ultimately end up leading people
straight to the pit of hell.
And, not only is our God our
only true savior, but his salvation is also not what many like to present it to
be. Jesus came to deliver us out of addiction to sin, not to forgive the sin
and then to do nothing to rescue us. Although it is only through faith in Jesus
Christ, and not of ourselves, that we receive such a great salvation, the salvation
we receive is freedom from bondage to sin and freedom to walk in Christ’s
righteousness. So, to truly believe in Jesus, it involves death to sin and
living to his righteousness, only not in our own power and strength, but in the
power and strength of God’s Spirit now living within us. God’s grace to us is
not him just forgiving our sin while we go on in sin. That is not grace! His
grace instructs us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and worldly passions (lusts) and
to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s
return. Now, THAT IS GRACE!
Power of The Cross
Shelly Johnson
Once in darkness now in light
Once blind now you see
Once a sinner now a saint
Once bound now free.
That's the power of the cross
See the chains fall…
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