May 28, 2023

Remembering What God REALLY Said (28 May 2023) – Pastor John Custer

This is Memorial Day weekend, a day in which we remember that freedom comes with a real cost.  It is fitting, then, that we take some time to remember some things even more important than the victories our country has won in battle.  We will remember today some of the things which get a bit obscure or distorted over time, particularly things which God Himself has said.  They are forgotten by our weak minds and easily become changed into something like folklore. Let’s look at four common ideas which “fade” over time: 

1. We are made in His Image

Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” 27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. NLT

We forget this simple fact or it never really registers on our minds. God looks like us, has feelings like us, and has given us the most important position in His creation - that of being sons and daughters.  We have been given authority to rule over all the creation. Given the state of science and the discovery of even more distant galaxies than we ever imagined, it is easy to wonder that maybe there is life more intelligent than us out there somewhere and that there are superior races of people who will dominate us. We are told that there are many earth-like planets which could contain life, so the chances are good that someone is out there we are told.  Then come the stories of unexplained UFOs or UAPs as they are now called.  Our importance and place in God’s creation seems to shrink smaller with each newscast.  

Let’s remember a few things about what God did say or strongly imply from the verse above:  First, He is GOD.  He created all that is out there, including all the vast galaxies and habitable planets.  If He jealously guarded and insured the success of His small nation of chosen people (Israel) against every foe, wouldn’t He tell us about competing peoples and threats from extra-galactic civilizations? There are indeed strange heavenly creatures pictured in the Bible (Ezekiel 1) which men of that time, and today as well, had no way to explain.  They are pictured around the throne of God and were under God’s control, even though they were extra-terrestrial.  Nothing in the Bible says anything about there being other worlds, or other Gods.  From what the Bible says, He is all there is and we are all there is.  Unexplainable phenomena must be seen as signs or wonders under His control.  In our transformed bodies we are the highest, most complex beings in his Creation, and we are destined to share His power in the actual ruling of the inhabited parts of the universe, if not more.  

2.  He will never leave (fail) us.

Hebrews 13:5-6 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” 6 So we can say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” NLT

 The point of many of our human experiences, especially trials, is that God is trying to teach us to be dependent on Him.  This is for our good, so that we can have peace of mind in every circumstance, not just in some.  Sooner or later, we have to make a basic choice between mammon (wealth) or God. This an easy decision for a poor person because it is so clear.  It is much harder for a rich person because he automatically develops a strong trust in his riches.  This basic shortage of money or things, usually temporary, is solved by giving into God’s kingdom.  Giving is the solution to poverty, not gaining more.  In the Bible, this always involved the material things we are in possession of, either money or stuff, not our labor.  The promise is a great one:  

Luke 6:38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” NLT

It is interesting that Hebrews 13:5-6, which we love to quote, is specifically tied to the fear of not having enough.  You will almost certainly experience this challenge because it is so basic. You will either love God or mammon.  Jesus also valued the attitude of being childlike in our faith.  He is trying to get us adults, who are bound by fear based upon our experience in the world, to be trusting, like a child.  There is freedom in this!

3.  He’s given us the Holy Spirit for a Helper.  

John 14:16-17 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate (Helper), who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. NLT

This amazing provision of God, in the form of a person, is probably the most overlooked part of God’s help given to us.  He is invisible, silent, and doesn’t push Himself on us.  We should be earnestly seeking His help.  Don’t forget that we are coming into the faith in a blind, poor and ignorant state.  We desperately need his Gifts to be able to have dealings in the spiritual world.  The Baptism in the Spirit is the starting point.  This experience should be one of three things every Christian should be able to teach to another believer.  The other two “basics” of the faith are: 1) Salvation (how to know if they are a believer or not) and 2) Water baptism.  Concerning teaching, no one should ever force anyone to present a teaching against their will.  We should be eager, even though a little nervous, about learning to share what we know with others, especially our fellow believers.  As we learn to work with other churches and begin to build the unity in a city or region, we must be careful to obey Romans 14;  

Romans 14:1-4 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval. NLT

We need to relish the Gifts and aid of the Holy Spirit, we must not flaunt this as superior knowledge (Romans 14), either by saying it or demonstrating it by excluding other churches from our congregation’s life.  

Conclusion - We must embrace and accept congregations who do not practice or accept any phenomena associated with the Holy Spirit!  Whether they accept the Baptism in the Spirit as truth or not, and all of the Spirit’s beautiful phenomena as truth or not, we must accept them and seek ways to have fellowship with them.  One of the great truths found in Revelation 2 and 3l is that God evaluates the spiritual health and therefore the spiritual reward or consequences of the entire church in a region, not just small enclaves.  We all affect the spiritual welfare of all other Christians around us, whether we realize it or not.  One last closing idea, painfully overlooked in today’s church worldwide is this verse:

Ephesians 4:2-3 …with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. NAS