God’s Will — Versus Man’s Will
How readily it seems people accept the gloom and doom around them; in their minds, everything is getting worse and worse and there is nothing that anyone can really do about it. Unbelievers in God seem to use the gloom and doom theory as an excuse to continue going deeper in sin; while believers in God use this theory to take up the banner of “the only way out is when Jesus comes back to reign, takes up His kingdom rule, etc.”
Because our previous generations chose to disobey God, they brought upon us the curse side of the choices God gave us (Deut. 11:26-28), yet we seem to forget that He gave us a blessing side as well. So, we must remember that we are the ones who have the choice on which side we want to be on, as nations and as individuals.
With this in mind, why do we in the Israel nations throw up our hands and allow this world to continue this way? Yet, we do! Perhaps it is because we tend to forget the Word of God, passages like, “When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it …..” (Deut. 4:25) Well, this happened once to our long ago ancestors and it is happening again before our very eyes, as our nation and people are lost in sin, and so, we find ourselves in bondage in our financial world, our freedoms and so on.
God said, “Oh that were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!” (Deut. 5:29)
Fortunately, we are blessed. For included in Deut. 4:25-31 are these Words from God, “…. but from thence [thou] shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, and neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.”
If believers continue to believe that the only way out is by the LORD coming back and doing it Himself, we will witness ourselves and our nation sinking further. Remember, God tells us that it is our wrong way of thinking and unwillingness that is holding us back. So, do we really expect Him to simply pat us on the back and say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant” anyway? No, we must repent. Remember what Jesus said to his disciples, as He was leaving, “…as a man taking a far journey, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.” (Mark 13:34-36)
If Jesus left us with such an important mission, shouldn’t we be acting upon it? Let’s not be caught sleeping. Now is the time to seek righteousness, not wait until the LORD returns. So many Christians think He is returning very soon, and He may, perhaps later today, or tomorrow, or this year, or next. Would most Christians, if they think of Christ returning at all, believe that things have gone too far already and it’s too big a job for us to correct by ourselves. Here’s a chilling thought for most looking for the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ, what if it doesn’t happen for another 100 years? You see, for most of our brethren who are just coasting along, they should know that what is important in God’s eyes is willingness to accept His Salvation, His Laws, His Truth and His prophetic admonition, now, not throw excuses like “I’ll get to it when I have more time.”
Readers, Jesus is with us right now, through His Holy Spirit. Yet, do most Christians really allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us? As John 16:13 reveals, “The Holy Spirit’s job is to “guide us into all truth.” So, each and every one of us must ask ourselves, “Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to do its job” or “Are we constantly making excuses for not doing what the LORD expects us to do?’
You know, it’s easy to fall prey to the least pitfall, we have all been there at one time or another. But, maybe, instead of buckling under we should cleave firmly to Paul’s admonition, “And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.” (Gal. 6:9) To be the “Watchmen” or “Fishermen” the Lord is seeking, we should, as Paul counselled in Phil. 3:14, “…press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Joshua had it right when he addressed the nation of Israel and the mixed multitude therein when he made it clear that if it seemed evil to them to serve the LORD, it mattered not to him because he and his house would definitely choose to serve the LORD. (Paraphrase Joshua 24:15).
Righteousness must be our goal. Howard Rand summed it up best when he wrote, “Furthermore, without the presence in the world of Spirit filled men and women, the Holy Spirit would be unable to convict the unregenerate of their unrighteousness. God calls men to be filled with His Spirit and to bear witness to the ungodly. Without their willingness to become the agency of the Holy Spirit to fulfill the Divine will, God’s purpose to save men from destruction would be frustrated.”
This world is made up of individuals, and if every individual who believed and loved the LORD and His truth started to act upon the above principal here and now, instead of waiting for, “the LORD to clean up this mess” maybe it might surprise us that life, while waiting for His return, isn’t as unbearable as we imagine. The question is, “how do we start putting this principle into practice?” I guess we must begin with ourselves, to make sure each of us are where we are supposed to be in the LORD’s eyes. Only then are we ready to meet the challenge of helping our brethren.
And what does the LORD expect of us? Simply put, to obey His Commandments and to love our LORD with all our heart and soul. The Apostle John counselled “… if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) Jesus Himself said, “If ye love me, obey my commandments.”
I’ll close my thoughts by saying this, “The sooner we, as aware individuals, start to do things His way, the more our light will shine and encourage our brethren to seek righteousness as well”. And when He returns, more of us will be ready to be worthy servants in His Kingdom.
Editor’s Comment: In the parable of the talents, the man going into a far country, certainly a reference to the Son of Man, three servants were entrusted with differing talents. The first two servants were diligent and doubled their capital. The third simply hid his one talent and was judged. Without going into the parable in great lengths, its principal is that God holds men (and women) responsible for their use of His gifts. This is the point of Ms. McKay’s article, she implores Christians not to just sit back and wait for Christ to return to clean up the mess but to get involved as watchmen and fishermen. Despite a disability, for a number of years she has been a diligent servant through her writing and a small e-mail ministry. An offspring of four generations of a family immersed in the Israel message, she began to question conventional church teaching as far back as Grade Six. Since that time she has immersed herself in a study of prophecies, the law and history. Her greatest teacher has been the many books and articles by the late Bible scholar, Howard Rand.
