Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

A Great Fall!


When I was a child, a long, long time ago, here in the United States of America, someone read to me, or I read what were called “Nursery Rhymes.”

Honestly, I don’t know why these stories (rhymes) were read to young children, for most all of them were about something bad that happened to someone, such as Jack and Jill fell down the hill, and Jack broke his crown. And, Old Mother Hubbard had an empty cupboard, and so she couldn’t feed her dog, etc. And, this following one is no exception:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.All the king's horses and all the king's menCouldn't put Humpty together again.

I don’t know about the original version of this nursery rhyme, but here in America, anyway, Humpty Dumpty was a very large personified fat egg.

Now, the word “fat” can mean wealthy and powerful, which certainly describes the USA, as nation. A fat belly can signify an insatiable appetite for the lusts of the flesh, which also describes the USA, as a nation. And, an egghead is someone who is intellectual and/or prideful (big headed).

And, an egg has a hard outer shell, which reminds me of someone who is hardheaded, stubborn and unyielding. And, at the center of this egg is a yellow yolk, and yellow is often a term used for someone who is a coward, and the core of us is our hearts. So, this describes someone whose heart is cowardly, and who is stubborn and unyielding, unwilling to submit to God.

And, then there is the egg white that is in between this cowardly heart and this hard outer shell (façade, mask, disguise). That egg white is slimy, which indicates someone who is immoral, lewd, and depraved inside, but who covers it up (with pretense) with a hard (firm, tough) outer shell (mask, disguise), which is a false righteousness (for it is white).

Like, for example, America is called a “Christian nation,” but as a nation, we are not “Christian” in a biblical sense. Our nation is very worldly, and even those who call themselves “Christians” in this nation are very worldly, for the most part. Therefore, the American church, at large, could easily be compared to the church in Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22).

But, not every church congregation in America is like this, and not everyone in America who calls himself or herself a Christian is like this. There are many godly people in America, although we may be in the minority.

Born of God
1 John 4:7-8 ESV

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

So, what is the remedy to all of this worldliness? It is to love God, and to love one another with the love of God, that is from God, and which is defined by God, and as he models love, which is agape love. But, it is not the kind of “love” the world speaks of which is human (fleshly) love and/or lust.

For, many people, looking for what they think is love, are going to what is false, i.e. to the idols and to the gods of men in order to find what they think is love and intimacy, only to come up empty, continually thirsting for more. They are going after broken cisterns which do not hold water, mere dolls (idols) which promise much but which only deliver hell, in reality.

So many Americans, and those who call themselves Christians in America are continually seeking after what is not of God, and what is against God, and what is against his holiness and righteousness. And, to ease their consciences, they also adopt a cheap grace gospel which permits them to remain on that lustful course, while still claiming heaven as their home.

Pornography addiction is very high in America, including among Christians and even pastors of churches, and among young children now, too, largely due to easy access to pornography via smart phones, tablets and personal computers which provide private and unaccountable viewing even in the corner of a crowded room, and frequently unsupervised by adults, too.

So, what this scripture is teaching us here is that the way in which we know if we are born of God, i.e. that we are children of God, in Christ, and on our way to heaven, is if we (agape) love God and others. And, this type of love prefers what is holy and righteous and pure, and it submits to God, and it walks in obedience to his commands. It walks the walk, and it doesn’t just talk the walk while living a secretive immoral life (1 Jn. 2:3-6; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

And, if we are truly loving others with God’s love, we aren’t going to be those who are addicted to porn, who use others to satisfy our lustful desires, and who cheat, lie, steal and commit adultery in order to get what we want without regard for who we are hurting in the process. But, we will be those who are following our Lord in obedience, and who are treating others with the love and kindness of Christ, which includes speaking the truth in love about such issues as these, too, in order to rescue people out of darkness.

But, this doesn’t mean we are sinless, but that empowered by the Holy Spirit we are no longer walking according to the flesh, but we are now walking (living, conducting our lives) according to the Holy Spirit of God (Romans 8).

He Loved Us First
1 John 4:9-10 ESV

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

We can only (agape) love God and others, though, because God first loved us, and because he sent Jesus to die on a cross for our sins, so that we could be delivered out of our slavery to sin, and so that, empowered by the Spirit of God, we can walk in holiness and purity of devotion to our Lord.

We can only (agape) love God and others if, by faith in Jesus Christ, we have surrendered our lives to the control of the Spirit and to the Lordship of Christ over our lives. We can only love God and others with this agape love if we have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and if we have been resurrected with Christ to newness of life in Christ, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24).

Then God, in the person of his Spirit, comes to live within us, which means his love is now living within us and can be poured out through us into the lives of others via submission to our Lord and obedience to his guidance and direction in our lives. For, every day we have to deny self and take up our cross and follow (obey) Jesus Christ. And, we have to continually, by the Spirit, be putting the flesh and sin to death in our lives (Rom. 8:1-17).

So, the point of all of this is that this love we must put into practice in our lives does not come from within ourselves, but it comes from God, and it is manifest within our lives via the Holy Spirit as we yield control of our lives over to God and as we submit to the leadership and guidance of our Lord.

So, this is not works-based salvation. This is not us trying to earn or to deserve our own salvation. This is the love of Jesus living his life out through us for the praise of his glory, as we submit to his will for our lives.

Love One Another
1 John 4:11-12 ESV

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

We are not saved by good works. We don’t get saved by demonstrating love to others. But when we love others and we love God with this agape love, which submits to God, and which follows our Lord in obedience, it is the evidence that God and his love abide in us and us in him. It is the fruit of that relationship that reveals that a true relationship with God exists.

If the fruit is not there, not at all, and if we are still walking in the flesh, living to please self, addicted to sin, following after our own stubborn and cowardly hearts, then this is evidence that we are not in relationship with Almighty God (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

So, our works do not save us, but we are saved to do the good works God planned in advance that we should walk (live) in them, and they do give evidence as to whether or not we are in Christ or still in the flesh (Eph. 2:10; Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 5:3-6; Gal. 6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8; Rom. 8:1-17).

Wrapping it Up

America, as a nation, can easily be described as this Humpty Dumpty on a wall who has had a great fall. All the plans, schemes and works of humans, though, can do nothing to put this nation back together again, or to put individual lives back together again, which have had a great fall.

Only God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, has the power to do what no human can do, which is to save us from ourselves, and to deliver us out of darkness, and to bring us into his wonderful light. He is our ONLY HOPE for what ails this nation of ours. So, we need to turn our lives over to him.

Our God, He is Alive

Music and Lyrics by A.W. Dicus

There was a long, long time ago,
A God whose voice the prophets heard.
He is the God that we should know,
Who speaks from His inspired word…

Our God, whose Son upon a tree,
A life was willing there to give,
That He from sin might set man free,
And evermore with Him could live…

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