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."

Thursday, October 12, 2023

They Refused to Listen

Proverbs 1 (Select verses)

 

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

    fools despise wisdom and instruction.

10 My son, if sinners entice you,

    do not consent.

15 my son, do not walk in the way with them;

    hold back your foot from their paths,

16 for their feet run to evil,

    and they make haste to shed blood.

 

Who are sinners? They are all who practice sin. They are all who deliberately and habitually sin against the Lord. And this includes many who profess faith in Jesus Christ. And they are all who do not believe in Jesus Christ, in truth, because they have not died with Christ to sin, and they have not been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness – no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23; 1 John 3:4-10).

 

And what is sin? It is disobedience to God and to his commands under the New Covenant. It is all that is evil and wicked. It is lying, cheating, stealing, committing adultery, faithlessness, moral impurity, sexual immorality, hate, lewdness, slander, drunkenness, deception, and manipulation of minds, etc. And it is going after other gods and following after other beliefs contrary to the New Covenant Scriptures, and it is being man followers instead of God followers, and refusing to listen to the truth, but accepting the lies, instead.

 

And many who are the enticers to sin call themselves pastors of church congregations, and preachers of the gospel, and ministers of the Word of God. And they are church denominations and people in high up positions in places of power and rule and authority. For they are wolves in sheep’s clothing who have come in among the sheep with the full purpose to deceive the sheep and to get them to follow the lies and other gods (the gods of this world), and false gospels, and false teachings which give glory to men.

 

So, what are we supposed to do when we are being enticed to do what is wrong? We are not to walk in the way of wrongness with them. And how do we know right from wrong? All human beings should know basic right and wrong. But what about if we don’t know? Well, we should inquire of the Lord and find out if it is right or wrong. And what if we are being told what is supposed to be right from two opposite ends of a situation? We should inquire of the Lord and study the Scriptures and pray that we will be led to the truth. And then we should not refuse the truth when shown to us.

 

Why must we do this? Because not all that is wrong or right is all that obvious in some situations. For right and wrong aren’t just about blatantly obvious sins. For there are many charlatans among us who are very deceptive and manipulative, and they have convinced many professing Christians to follow after the lies of Satan and to reject the truth of the Scriptures. And many are following the lies because they aren’t doing the homework to test to see if what they are being told is the truth or not.

 

And just let me say this here. Many professing Christians are following lies because these lies have been handed down to them from their ancestors and from their church denominations, and the lies have been so engrained in them that they would not even imagine that what they are believing are lies and not the truth. But some of them, even if you present to them the truth clearly and biblically, a truth that cannot be disputed, will still embrace the lies and they will reject the truth, because they prefer the lies.

 

24 Because I have called and you refused to listen,

    have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

25 because you have ignored all my counsel

    and would have none of my reproof,

26 I also will laugh at your calamity;

    I will mock when terror strikes you,

27 when terror strikes you like a storm

    and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

    when distress and anguish come upon you.

 

And this is what this is talking about here. For the Lord has given us the Scriptures to teach us the truth. But many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are refusing to give up the lies and to embrace the truth, even if the truth is clearly shown to them biblically and cannot be disputed. So, they are not ignorant of the truth. They just don’t want to believe it. So they are ignoring the counsel of God and the truth of the Scriptures in order to hold on to their traditions, and/or in order to hold on to their sins.

 

And God does have a day of judgment planned for us when we will all have to stand before him and give an account for what we did with Jesus and with the truth we heard, and according to our deeds. And it is not going to go well for those who continued to refuse the Lord’s counsel, but who continued to walk in their sins, and to follow their traditions and the teachings of men instead of to heed the Word of God under the New Covenant. For that is where we are, not the Old Covenant.

 

28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

    they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

29 Because they hated knowledge

    and did not choose the fear of the Lord,

30 would have none of my counsel

    and despised all my reproof,

31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,

    and have their fill of their own devices.

 

For Jesus Christ said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven. For many professing Christians are going to stand before him on the day of Judgment calling him “Lord,” and professing all they did in his name, and he is going to say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23). And this is because they refused the counsel of the Lord and they did their own thing, instead.

 

So, please don’t be like them. Please listen to the Lord. Please listen to his teachings, especially those under the New Covenant, because that is what we live under now, not the Old Covenant. Please don’t refuse the truth because of your traditions or because of what you were always taught. Be seekers of truth and righteousness. Be students of the Scriptures who diligently search the New Covenant Scriptures for truth, and then follow that truth. Obey the Lord, or you will not have eternal life in him.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

For Our Nation  

 

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

 

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

 

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

 

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

 

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

 

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