SHATTERED DREAMS OF TRIALS - TESTS - AND TROUBLES!
GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH; IN SIX DAYS HE MADE WHAT WE SEE ALL AROUND US; ON THE SIXTH DAY HE MADE ADAM AND EVE— GOD LOOKED AND SAID, “IT WAS GOOD.”
THE GARDEN OF EDEN WOULD HAVE BEEN A MASTERPIECE OF BEAUTY. THE TWO HUMANS WERE TO DRESS AND KEEP IT.
SIN [THE BREAKING OF GOD’S LAW AND COMMANDMENTS —1 JOHN 3: 4; ROMANS 7: 7; 3: 20; JAMES 2: 10-12…. AND VERSES IN PSALM 119] SOON ENTERED, WITH THE HELP OF SATAN THE DEVIL. THE FIRST HUMANS WERE SENT OUT OF THE GARDEN, INTO A PLACE WHERE SIN NOW DWELT.
ADAM AND EVE HAD TWO CHILDREN TO START THE EXPANSION OF HUMANITY— CAIN AND ABEL.
CAIN HAD THE WRONG ATTITUDE; GOD CORRECTED HIM; TOLD HIM IF HE DID WELL HE WOULD BE ACCEPTED, IF HE DID EVIL, SIN WAS AT THE DOOR. CAIN DID NOT CHANGE HIS ATTITUDE AND ROSE UP AND KILLED HIS BROTHER ABEL.
HERE WAS ABEL GOING IN THE WAY OF THE LORD GOD, AND A MIGHTY BIG TROUBLE HE SUFFERED— DEATH!
[GENESIS 1-4].
ABRAHAM IS CALLED TO LEAVE HIS HOME AND GO WHERE GOD WAS SENDING HIM. HE ACTED WITH FAITH, AND MOVED OUT AND ON. LOT, A PART OF ABRAHAM’S IMMEDIATE CLOSE RELATIVES, WENT ALSO WITH HIM. BOTH HAD LOTS OF HERDS. THEY DECIDED TO PART COMPANY, GO THEIR SEPARATE WAYS IN THE LAND GOD CHOSE FOR THEM.
THEY BOTH NEEDED FAITH TO ENDURE WHAT THE LORD WAS GIVING THEM; THEY BOTH MUST HAVE KNOWN THE PATH BEFORE THEM COULD HAVE ITS TESTS AND TROUBLES.
IT WAS NOT LONG AND A TROUBLE WAS ON THEIR DOORSTEP. LOT AND HIS COMPANIONS AND HERDS AND GOODS, WERE TAKEN CAPTIVE, AND ABRAHAM HAD TO FACE THE TRIAL AND GO RESCUE LOT [GENESIS 14].
IT IS CLEAR HERE THAT SERVING THE ETERNAL GOD MAY NOT ALWAYS BE EASY; YOU MAY FACE TRIALS AND TROUBLES.
GOD PROMISES ABRAHAM A SON IN HIS AND HIS WIFE’S FULL OLD AGE. THE PROMISES HE GAVE TO ABRAHAM [GENESIS 15]. THIS WAS A TEST PROMISE - FAITH WOULD BE NEEDED - SOMETIMES OUR FAITH IS NOT VERY HIGH, AND WE RESORT TO OUR WAYS. THE POINT IS LIFE CAN THROW US A TEST, THE CHILDREN OF GOD ARE NOT ALWAYS GIVEN AN EASY SMOOTH RIDE IN LIFE.
ABRAHAM IS AGAIN TESTED BY GOD; THE STORY IS IN GENESIS 22. ABRAHAM THIS TIME HAS FULL FAITH MEETING THE TEST. GOD WAS WELL PLEASED.
JOSEPH WE LEARN STARTING IN GENESIS 37, WAS CHOSEN OF GOD, FOR PURPOSES HE DID NOT KNOW AT THE TIME. JOSEPH IS SOLD BY HIS BROTHERS TO MERCHANTS. JOSEPH FINDS HIMSELF IN EGYPT. HE IS GIVEN BY GOD THE GIFT OF INTERPRETING DREAMS, WHICH STANDS HIM IN GOOD STEAD AS HIS LIFE PROCEEDS. HE SERVES THE ETERNAL GOD WITH FAITHFULNESS, RUNNING AWAY FROM SIN WHEN PHARAOH’S WIFE TRIES TEMPTING HIM TO HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH HER. THEN SHE TURNS THE TABLE UPSIDE-DOWN ON JOSEPH WITH LIES, AND JOSEPH IS IMPRISONED.
WE SEE ONCE MORE THE TRUTH THAT BEING A CHILD OF GOD, DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY SPARE YOU FROM TRIALS AND FROM EVIL PEOPLE THAT WILL DECIDE TO DO YOU HARM.
THROUGH THE GIFT OF INTERPRETING DREAMS JOSEPH IS BROUGHT OUT OF HIS TROUBLE. HE IS GIVEN FAVOR IN THE SIGHT OF PHARAOH, AND MADE A RULER IN EGYPT. THE WHOLE REASON AS TO WHY JOSEPH WAS IN
EGYPT BEGINS TO BE SEEN AS WE READ ON IN CHAPTERS 41 - 47.
JOSEPH DID NOT HAVE A SUGAR-COATED LIFE PER SE. HE WAS NOT WITHOUT SOME TRIALS, TESTS, AND TROUBLES.
THE STORY OF MOSES IN EXODUS, SHOWS THAT HE ALSO HAD CERTAIN TRIALS, AND TROUBLES, IN LEADING AND GOVERNING UNDER GOD, THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL. HIS TRIALS WERE MORE OF THE HEART AND MIND, IN DEALING WITH A STIFF-NECKED PEOPLE WHO WERE UP AND DOWN IN OBEYING THE WAYS OF THE LORD. MOSES’ LIFE WAS NOT A BED OF ROSES, THERE WERE THORNS AND PRICKLES ALONG THE WAY.
JOSHUA, THE LEADER OF ISRAEL AFTER MOSES, HAD MUCH OF THE SAME TRIALS AND TROUBLES MOSES HAD. TROUBLES NO DOUBT OF STRESS AND ANGUISH WITH ISRAEL AS THEY SETTLED THE PROMISED LAND,
AND MOST WHO HAVE TAKEN UP THE WORD OF GOD TO READ, WILL BE FAMILIAR WITH THE LIFE OF SAMSON. HIS STORY BEGINS IN JUDGES 13.
HERE WAS GOD’S MAN, WITH THE GIFT OF EXTRORDINARY STRENGTH. HIS LIFE SURELY SHOWS THAT WE CAN FACE SEVERE TROUBLES, TESTS, AND TRIALS. BEING ON GOD’S SIDE DOES NOT GUARANTEE LIFE WILL BE SMOOTH AS A BABIE’S BOTTOM, AS THE SAYING GOES.
SAMSON FINALLY HAD TO GIVE HIS LIFE TO SERVE HIS GOD.
WE COME TO DAVID THE SHEPHERD AND KING OF ISRAEL. IT ALL STARTS IN 1 SAMUEL 16.
DAVID, CALLED BY GOD HIMSELF, A MAN AFTER HIS OWN HEART.
THE UPS AND DOWNS, THE TROUBLES, TESTS, AND TRIALS, WERE MASSIVE FOR ONE MAN TO HAVE. YES HE WAS UNWISE AT TIMES, HAD SOME GROSS SINS, DID MIGHTY WORKS OF VARIOUS KINDS. HAD HUMILITY AND TRUE DEEP REPENTANCE.
CERTAINLY A HUGE EXAMPLE, OF A CHILD OF GOD HAVING THINGS NOT GOING AS RELAXING, AS ON A SUNNY CARIBBEAN BEACH WITH AN ICE-COLD BEER.
THEN THERE IS THE STORY OF JOB. MY O MY, WHAT PHYSICAL TRIALS HE EXPERIENCED. IT IS HARD FOR THE MIND TO REALLY CAPTURE THE PHYSICAL PAIN AND DISCOMFORT THAT MAN HAD TO ENDURE. AND ALSO THE MENTAL ANGUISH OF THE LOSS OF HIS CHILDREN.
ALL THAT WE HAVE LOOKED AT SO FAR, I WELL REMEMBER LEARNING IT ALL, AS A CHILD OF 7 YEARS OLD, WHEN MY DAD SENT ME TO A CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL, WHERE THE FIRST HALF HOUR OF EACH SCHOOL DAY, WAS SPENT IN THE READING OF THE BIBLE, AND THE READING OF THE STORIES I HAVE JUST SUMMARIZED.
WOW….. THEY MADE IT PLAIN TO ME AT AGE 7, 8, 9, 10, THAT BEING A CHILD OF GOD, DID NOT MEAN YOU WERE GUARANTEED A LIFE OF EASE, AND SMOOTH SAILING, WITH NO TRIALS, TESTS, AND TROUBLES. I LEARNT YOU REALLY NEEDED A VERY PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, TO SEE YOU THROUGH WHAT LIFE, WHAT “time and chance” CAME YOUR WAY.
YES AS A YOUNGSTER I WAS READING IN SCHOOL AND IN SUNDAY SCHOOL, THE FOUR GOSPELS. WHEN I READ JESUS SAYING, “I AM COME THAT YOU MAY HAVE LIFE AND HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY” I KNEW THAT WAS A GENERAL STATEMENT. IT HAD TO BE BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY EXAMPLES IN THE BIBLE, WHERE CHILDREN OF GOD, AT TIMES, HAD TRIALS, TESTS, AND TROUBLES, SOME MORE, SOME LESS. OVERALL BEING A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST JESUS, YOU HAVE A HEART OF PEACE AND JOY AS YOU KEEP ALL THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE OF HOW THIS LIFE CAN UNFOLD. YOU SAY WITH THE APOSTLE PAUL, “WHO CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD…. I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT…. A CROWN OF GLORY WAITS FOR ME IN THAT DAY” [CHRIST’S COMING].
HAVING LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY IS NOT INTERPRETED BY YOUR INTERPRETATION OF “ABUNDANTLY.” WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER I SAW MANY OF MY FRIENDS GET INTO ALCOHOL DRINKING, WAY TOO MUCH, AND SMOKING CIGARETS, WHICH THEY ADMITTED WAS AFFECTING THEIR HEALTH IN A WRONG WAY [THIS WAS IN THE 1950s]. I WAS SPARED THESE TWO ADDITIONS BECAUSE GOD’S WORD KEPT ME FROM FALLING INTO COMPANY WHERE THESE WERE PART OF THAT COMPANY— I HAD MY TEEN YEARS ABUNDANTLY GOOD.
JEREMIAH THE PROPHET, WAS ONE OF ONLY THREE PERSONS CHOSEN BEFORE HIS BIRTH [THE OTHER TWO - JOHN THE BAPTIST AND JESUS THE CHRIST] - JEREMIAH 1: 5.
IN CHAPTER 37 JEREMIAH IS IN PRISON.
MOST OF THE PROPHETS OF GOD SENT TO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND THE HOUSE OF JUDAH, WERE NOT TREATED WELL, WERE LAUGHED AT, RIDICULED, AND CERTAINLY DID NOT HAVE AN EASY TIME FOR PREACHING GOD’S WORD.
THERE IS THE FAMOUS [IN CHRISTIAN CIRCLES] OF DANIEL AND HIS THRFEE FRIENDS— THEY SURE HAD A TEST; WORSHIP A PHYSICAL IDOL OR BE BURNT UP IN A FIRE 7 TIMES HOTTER THAN USUAL. THEY TOLD THE KING, GOD COULD SAVED THEM FROM DEATH, BUT IF HE CHOSE NOT TO, THEY WOULD NOT BOW DOWN TO A FALSE IDOL.
COMING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH OF GOD HAD HARDLY GOT STARTED, WHEN STEPHEN WAS STONES TO DEATH [ACTS 7], FOR TEACHING THE WORD OF GOD.
THEN WE HAVE A GUY CALLED SAUL AND HIS PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS - MANY IMPRISONED [ACTS 8: 3-4].
SAUL WAS ON HIS WAY TO PERSECUTE MORE WHEN JESUS REVEALED HIMSELF TO HIM, AND SAUL WAS CONVERTED; HIS NAME WAS CHANGED TO PAUL. GOD HAD CHOSEN HIM, BUT IN THE WORK HE WAS GOING TO DO WAS THIS FROM THE LORD—— “…. HE IS A CHOSEN VESSEL UNTO ME, TO BEAR MY NAME BEFORE THE GENTILES, AND KINGS, AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. FOR I WILL SHOW HIM HOW GREAT THINGS HE MUST SUFFER FOR MY NAME’S SAKE” [ACTS 9: 15, 16].
NOT ALL OF GOD’S CHILDREN WILL SUFFER AS PAUL DID; HE SUFFERED FROM VERBAL ATTACKS, TO STONING, TO THE LASH, AND SOME PRETTY VIOLENT NATURAL FORCES LIKE BEING SHIP-WRECKED.
THE APOSTLE JOHN ON THE OTHER HAND, FROM WHAT IS WRITTEN, HAD A LONG LIFE AND NOT MANY TROUBLES OR TRIALS, IN CONTRAST TO PAUL.
VERY VERY FEW OF GOD’S CHILDREN ARE TOLD IN ADVANCE WHAT TRIALS, TESTS, AND TROUBLES, WILL COME UPON THEM. MOST OF US DO NOT KNOW WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS. MOST OF US AND THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, LIVE UNDER WHAT WISE KING SOLOMON CALLED “TIME AND CHANCE”—— AS IT IS GENERALLY FOR THE UNCONVERTED, SO IT IS FOR THE CONVERTED TO GOD AND CHRIST. WE LIVE FROM DAY TO DAY NOT KNOWING WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO US THE NEXT DAY.
NOW SOME OF US DO BRING TROUBLES UPON OURSELVES, NOT BEING WISE, NOT SEEKING HELP FROM ONES THAT WENT BEFORE US; YET THINGS CAN HAPPEN TO US THAT IS REALLY TIME AND CHANCE, AS WE OFTEN SAY ABOUT SUCH PEOPLE “BEING IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME.”
JESUS IN HIS TEACHINGS MADE IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT THOSE CALLED WHO DO WANT TO BE THOSE CHOSEN [I WROTE A FULL STUDY ON BEING CALLED AND CHOSEN], MUST COUNT THE COST!
WHEN I COUNSEL PEOPLE WHO DESIRE TO BE A CHRISTIAN AND WANT TO BE BAPTIZED, I MAKE SURE I GIVE ENOUGH EMPHASIS ON THIS PART OF JESUS’ TEACHING.
“If any man come to me, and hate not [by comparison to me] his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sister, yes, and his own life also, he/she cannot be my disciple.
And whosoever dose not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sits not down first, and counts the cost, whether he has sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him. Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish…..” [Luke 14: 26-30].
JESUS CLEARLY TAUGHT YOU HAD TO HAVE A CLEAR PICTURE IN YOUR MIND, AS TO WHAT IT WAS GOING TO MEAN, IF YOU TRULY FOLLOWED HIM. HE DID NOT HOLD BACK AS TO WHAT THAT MEANT.
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me” [Luke 9: 23].
“And he answered and said unto them, Who is my mother or my brothers? …. Behold my mother and my brothers! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.” [Mark 3: 34-35].
SURELY BY NOW WE HAVE SEEN THAT BEING A CHILD OF GOD, A FOLLOWER OF JESUS CHRIST, LIFE MAY NOT ALWAYS BE A BED OF ROSES WITH NO THORNS.
WHATEVER MAY COME OUR WAY, UNEXPECTED, AND OUT OF OUR HANDS, JUST LIFE WITH ITS “TIME AND CHANCE” WE MUST SAY WITH PAUL, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose” [Romans 8: 28].
AND— “Who shall separate us from the live of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For Your sake we are killed all the day long; as are as counted sheep for the slaughter. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded, that either death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, or any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus” [Romans 8: 35-39].
“….for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therefore to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound, every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and be hungry; both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” [Philippians 4: 11-13].
THERE IS ALL THE GREAT AND WONDERFUL CHAPTER 11 OF THE BOOK OF HEBREWS——
“…..And what shall I say more? For the time would fail me to tell go Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae, of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets. Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouth of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to fight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again; and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection. And others had trials of cruel mocking and scourging, yes, moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tried, were slain with the sword; they wandered about min sheepskin and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was not worthy); they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caved of the earth. And these all having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise; God having provided some better thing for n us, that they without us, should not be made perfect”
[Hebrews 11: 32-40].
YES THOSE PEOPLE OF OLD ENDURED WHATEVER LIFE HANDED THEM OUT; THEY FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT; THEY STAYED THE COURSE, ENDURED TO THE END. THEY SET US AN EXAMPLE OF A VICTORIOUS LIFE AND DEATH IN THE LORD.
YES TIME AND CHANCE HAPPENED; YES PERSECUTION CAME FOR BEING A CHILD OF THE ETERNAL GOD. YES SOME WERE CALLED TO GIVE UP THEIR LIFE FOR SERVING ALL THE WAYS OF GOD.
SOME SAW MIRACLES HAPPEN; SOME WERE DELIVERED FROM DEATH. MANY HAD TO ENDURE TRIALS, TESTS, AND TROUBLES IN THEIR LIFE, AS THEY WALKED WITH GOD.
MOST, THE VAST VAST MAJORITY, OF GOD’S CHILDREN, DID NOT KNOW WHAT LIFE WAS GOING TO THROW AT THEM. ONLY A RELATIVE FEW KNEW THEY WERE NOT GOING TO HAVE A LONG LIFE.
SO TODAY IT IS WITH US. AFTER WE ARE CALLED AND CHOSEN TO ACCEPT JESUS AS PERSONAL SAVIOR, TO THEN LIVE BY EVERY WORD OF GOD, AS JESUS TAUGHT WE SHOULD [MATTHEW 4: 4], WE ARE NOT TOLD WHEN OUR PHYSICAL LIFE WILL COME TO AN END.
WE MUST AS CHILDREN OF GOD, LIVE EACH DAY WE ARE GIVEN AS IF IT COULD BE OUR LAST.
WE WATCH THE NEWS, FAR OR NEAR, AND SEE JUST ABOUT EVERY DAY [IN REALITY IT IS EVERYDAY], PEOPLE SUFFERING, AND DYING IN “TIME AND CHANCE”—— PEOPLE HAVING TRIALS, TESTS, AND TROUBLES, FROM FIRE, WIND, STORM, EARTH-QUAKES, FLOODS, VOLCANOS, WARS, FAMINE, PESTILENCE— AND FROM SICKNESSES AND PLAGUES OF ALL KINDS.
YES, THIS IS LIFE AT THE PRESENT ON PLANET EARTH.
THE RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS HAS NOT YET COME TO EARTH; THAT AGE TO COME HAS NOT YET ARRIVED. WE STILL LIVE IN A WORLD OF SIN, WHERE PEOPLE ARE MORE AND MORE IGNORING THE WORD OF GOD, AND LIVING IN THE WAY THAT SEEMS RIGHT TO THEM, WHICH GOD’S WORD SAYS ENDS IN DEATH AND SUFFERING; AND THAT KIND OF WORLD CAN SPILL OVER ONTO THE CHILD OF GOD.
WE, THE CHILDREN OF THE FATHER IN HEAVEN, ARE NOT GIVEN A 100% GUARANTEE OF PROTECTION AND/OR DELIVERANCE FROM PHYSICAL TROUBLES, AND A LONG SMOOTH LIFE.
WE MUST TREASURE EACH DAY, EACH WEEK, EACH MONTH, WE HAVE LIFE.
WE DO INDEED HAVE TO WATCH OUR ATTITUDE OF MIND IN THIS EARTHLY LIVING WHILE ON PLANET EARTH.
FROM THE BOOK—— SHATTERED DREAMS by Larry Crabb
QUOTE
IN OUR STRUGGLE TO HANDLE PAIN OF SHATTERED DREAMS, HOWEVER, ONE QUESTION IS RARELY TALKED ABOUT WITH HONESTY….THE QUESTION IS THIS: WHAT DO WE DO WITH HOW WE’RE FEELING ABOUT GOD?….DO WE EVEN LIKE GOD, LET ALONE LOVE HIM? IS HE ON OUR LIST OF CHERISHED FRIENDS? ARE WE RESTING IN HIS GOODNESS, CONFIDENTLY TRUSTING HIM TO WORK ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR OUR GOOD?…..
[YES ROMANS 8: 28— WE MAY NOT LIKE IT; WE MAY NOT SEE WHY IT’S HAPPENING TO US, WHATEVER THE SHATTERED DREAM IS. SOMETIMES WE MUST WAIT YEARS TO FIND THE ANSWER; I HAVE SURELY EXPERIENCED THAT IN MY LIFETIME OF GOING ON 80 YEARS. SOMETIMES WE MAY NEVER UNDERSTAND IN THIS LIFETIME AS WHY SHATTERED DREAMS COME OUR WAY. AS PAUL SAID WE LOOK THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY, BUT ONE DAY WE SHALL KNOW AS WE ARE KNOWN—- 1 CORINTHIANS 13: 12— Keith Hunt]
IN THE CHAOS AND HEARTACHE OF DREAMS THAT CRUMBLE, GOD SO OFTEN SEEMS TO PULL AWAY. WHEN WE CRY THE LOUDEST HE SOMETIMES TURNS A DEAF EAR. NOTHING CHANGES. HUSBANDS DON’T COME BACK. LESBIAN DAUGHTERS STAY LESBIAN. GRUDGE HOLDING FRIENDS DON’T FORGIVE. THE THREE-YEAR CHECK-UP REVEALS THE CANCER IS BACK. OUR DULL JOB STAYS DULL…..
AND NOTHING IMPROVES INSIDE US…..WE’RE MISERABLE— OR AT LEAST EMPTY AND DISCOURAGE. WORSHIP COMES HARD. PRAYING SEEMS POINTLESS. PROMISED SPIRITUAL FRUITS DON’T SEEM TO BE GROWING ON OUR BRANCHED. WE PRAY FOR LOVE, JOY, AND PEACE AND FEEL ANGER, DESPAIR, AND FEAR……
TRUSTING GOD IS DANGEROUS BUSINESS. UNLESS WE’RE TRUSTING HIM FOR WHAT HE’S PROMISED TO PROVIDE, THE STEP AFTER TRUST IS DISILLUSIONMENT……
THE MONITOR WIRED TO OUR SOUL PRINTS OUT A FLAT LINE. WE STILL PLAY GOLF AND SING IN CHURCH AND DO NICE THINGS FOR PEOPLE, BUT MORE OUT OF HABIT AND DESIRE. WE LOOSE THE CAPACITY FOR SOUL-PLEASURE……
THERE IS OF COURSE, A PRICE TO PAY FOR THIS ADJUSTMENT TO SHALLOWNESS. WHEN THE CAPACITY FOR SOUL-PLEASURE IS LOST, WE BECOME IRRESISTIBLY ATTRACTED TO LESSER PLEASURE— EITHER TO COUNTERFEITS OF SOUL-PLEASURE [LIKE POWER, POPULARITY, AND PROWESS IN BUSINESS OR SPORTS OR PARTY HUMAOR] OR TO SUBSTITUTES
FOR SOUL-PLEASURE [LIKE ADDICTIVE EATING, DRINKING, AND SEXUAL FUN]……
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HOPE IN GOD AS WE CONTINUE TO LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE GOOD DREAMS SHATTER AND GOD SEEMS TO DO NOTHING ABOUT IT?
THERE IS AN ANSWER,….GOD REQUIRES A CHANGE IN HOW WE NATURALLY LOOK AT LIFE; IT DEMANDS A REVOLUTION IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHY WE’RE HERE AT ALL…..
THE PROBLEM SINCERE CHRISTIANS HAVE WITH GOD OFTEN COMES DOWN TO A WRONG UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THIS LIFE IS MEANT TO PROVIDE…..WE LONG TO EXPERIENCE A COMPELLING PLEASURE THAT ELIMINATES ALL PAIN. HOW WE TRY TO SATISFY THAT LONGING WILL VARY, DEPENDING ON OUR PHILOSOPHY. IF WE ACCEPT THE PLAYBOY PHILOSOPHY, WE DO WHATEVER GENERATES IMMEDIATE PLEASURE. WE BUY NICE CLOTHES, ATTEND IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS, AND TAKE AN OCCASIONAL CRUISE. SOMETIMES WE CHANGE SPOUSES OR CHEAT ON THEM…… WE CONTINUE TO WANT SOMETHING OR SOMEONE MORE THAN GOD. WE DON’T THINK THAT’S OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM, BUT IT IS…..
AND WHEN HE FAILS— WHEN THE ONE WE DEPEND ON TO GIVE US A GOOD TIME DOESN’T DO HIS JOB— WE FEEL BETRAYED, LET DOWN, THOROUGHLY DISILLUSIONED….. OUR SOUL REMAINS UNSATISFIED. EVENTUALLY WE MAY LEARN TO HATE HIM. GOING TO CHURCH DOESN’T HELP. THE BIBLE BECOMES DULL. SERVING OTHERS HAS NO ADVANTAGE. SOME STOP LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. WE LOOSE HOPE…..
[I HAVE SEEN THAT HAPPEN WITH DOZENS OF CHRISTIANS— THEY SEE NO PLEASURE IN SERVING GOD— THEY LOOSE THEIR CONNECTION WITH HIM; THEY GO BACK INTO THE WORLD— Keith Hunt]
IF WE ARE TO DISCOVER A HOPE THAT CONTINUES THROUGH SHATTERED DREAMS, THAT HOPE MUST BE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE REGARDLESS OF THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES…. WE MUST DISCOVER A HOPE THAT THRIVES WHEN DREAMS SHATTER…. THE SAME HOPE THAT ANCHORS US TO GOD WHEN DREAMS DO COME TRUE…..
WE MUST IDENTIFY A HOPE THAT HAS THE POWER TO DO SOMETHING TRULY WONDERFUL WHEN THE DARK NIGHT DESCENDS AND WE SEE NOTHING BUT PAIN AND DISAPPOINTMENT IN THIS LIFE, A HOPE THAT DOES EXACTLY THE SAME THING WHEN THE SKY IS SUNNY….. BEING WITH JESUS WILL MAKE ALL OUR DREAMS COME TRUE. THAT’S FOUNDATIONAL. WITHOUT THAT HOPE THERE IS NO OTHER…..
BUT WITH THE HOPE OF HEAVEN [KINGDOM OF GOD - Keith Hunt] AS OUR BEDROCK, LIVING A CHRISTIAN LIFE MAKES SENSE……
AFTER I SET THE STAGE, I WANT TO TELL A STORY. ACTUALLY, I WANT TO RETELL AN OLD FAMILIAR STORY, ONE ALREADY TOLD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT BOOK OF RUTH…..
ONE OF THE MOST DISCONCERTING PASSAGE IN THE BIBLE IS THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF HEBREWS. THERE THE WRITER PRODUCES A LONG LIST OF OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS WHO HE CLAIMS NEVER LOST HOPE. I UNDERSTAND THAT CLAIM WHEN HE MENTIONS RAHAB. SHE DREAMED OF NOT BEING KILLED WHEN HER CITY WAS DESTROYED. HER DREAM CAME TRUE. SHE LONGED FOR SAFETY AND SHE GOT IT. I LIKE THAT STORY.
AND HIS CLAIM MAKES SENSE TO ME WHEN HE REFERS TO THE THREE GOOD MEN WHO ABANDONED THEMSELVES TO GOD AND “QUENCHED THE FURY OF THE FLAMES.” ALTHOUGH THEY DID NOT MAKE DELIVERANCE FROM THE FIRE A PRECONDITION FOR THEIR OBEDIENCE, SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO, MUST HAVE A LEAST SILENTLY HOPED THAT THE FLAMES WOULD NOT HURT TOO MUCH…..
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THE IDEA OF SALVATION ALMOST ALWAYS MEANS DELIVERANCE FROM TOUGH CIRCUMSTANCES…..
BUT WHEN THE WRITER OF HEBREWS GOES ON TO TALK ABOUT OTHERS WHO WERE NOT DELIVERED, WHO SUFFERED THE WORST KINDS OF TRIALS AND DIED WITHOUT EVER BEING SAVED FROM THEM. THEIR GRATIFICATION WAS DELAYED UNTIL HEAVEN
[THE KINGDOM OF GOD AT JESUS’ RETURN; THEY AIN’T IN HEAVEN; THEY AWAIT THE RESURRECTION WITH US, ALL TOGETHER AT THE SAME TIME; AS I’VE PROVED IN OTHER STUDIES— Keith Hunt]
HE SPEAKS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE JEERED AND WHIPPED, AND CHAINED, PEOPLE WHO TRUSTED GOD YET WERE STONED, SAWED IN TWO, OR RUN THROUGH BY THE SWORD.
EVEN THE NEW TESTAMENT FIGURE JOHN THE BAPTIST WORRIED, WHEN HE GOT LOCKED UP, THAT HE WAS FOLLOWING THE WRONG LEADER. I WONDER IF HIS HOPE RAN THIN WHEN HEROD’S HENCHMEN STRETCHED HIS NECK ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK. ARE WE SERIOUSLY EXPECTED TO KEEP ON HOPING WHEN A BIG MAN WEARING A BLACK HOOD LIFTS AN AX THAT HE INTENDS TO BRING DOWN ON OUR NECK? CLEARLY, IT WOULD BE A FLIGHT FROM REALITY TO HOPE THAT THE AX WOULD MISS.
WHAT THEN ARE WE SUPPOSED TO HOPE FOR? WHILE HE WAS IN PRISON, DID JOHN HAVE ANY HOPE OTHER THAN HEAVEN? [KINGDOM OF GOD - Keith Hunt]…..
AND THEN THIS MOST DISCONCERTING CHAPTER [HEBREWS 11] ENDS ON AN EVEN MORE BLIND NOTE; THE WRITER INSISTS THAT THESE PEOPLE HELD ON TO THEIR FAITH, THEY NEVER LOST HOPE, EVEN THOUGH “NONE OF THEM RECEIVED WHAT HAD BEEN PROMISED” [HEBREWS 11: 39]……
[YES, ANOTHER PROOF WE DO NOT GO TO HEAVEN, WE ARE NOT MADE IMMORTAL, WHEN WE DIE. MANY STUDIES I HAVE DONE PROVING THIS POINT OF TRUTH - Keith Hunt]
ONE GETS THE IMPRESSION FROM READING HEBREWS 11 THAT GOD WOULD PREFER TO HEAR SOMEONE SHARE, “MY CANCER CAME BACK” “I JUST LOST MY JOB” “MY WIFE FILED FOR DIVORCE” “I FEEL ANGRY, DISCOURAGED AND MISERABLE” “BUT I INTEND TO KEEP TRUSTING GOD. I BELIEVE I CAN DO IT. I WANT HIM MORE THAN EVER. THAT’S MY HOPE. AND IT BRINGS ME JOY.”
END QUOTE
THE WRITER GOES ON TO TELL ABOUT JESUS AND HIS TRIAL OF SUFFERING. JESUS PRAYED IF POSSIBLE IT WOULD NOT NEED TO BE THIS WAY, HIS SUFFERING DEATH, BUT THEN SAID, “NOT MY WILL BE DONE, BUT YOUR WILL FATHER.”
JESUS CRIED OUT SO THAT BLOOD CAME WITH HIS PERSPIRATION— THE MEDICAL WORLD HAS A NAME FOR IT.
YES HE ASKED THE FATHER WAS THERE ANOTHER WAY FOR HUMANS TO HAVE SALVATION, OTHER THAN HIS ANGUISHING DEATH. THERE WAS NO OTHER WAY. JESUS ACCEPTED THE FATHER’S WILL.
JESUS HAD MANY TRIALS, TEST, AND TROUBLES DURING HIS 3 AND 1/2 YEAR MINISTRY.
SO DID THE APOSTLE PAUL AND OTHERS.
AND IT WAS ALSO SO FOR MANY DOWN THROUGH THE LAST TWO THOUSAND YEARS.
THE BOOK OF REVELATION TELLS US, AS CHRIST DID IN HIS GREAT END-TIME PROPHECY [MATTHEW 24; MARK 13; LUKE 21], THAT SOME WILL GO THROUGH THE GREAT TRIBULATION OF THE LAST DAYS, SUFFERING PERSECUTION, AND SOME WILL NEEDS BE HAVE TO DIE FOR THE FAITH ONCE DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS.
OTHERS IN LIFE HAVE IT MUCH SMOOTHER, AS LIKE THE APOSTLE JOHN, LIVING TO OLD AGE. AND SOME WILL FIND PROTECTION FROM GOD IN THE WILDERNESS OF THIS EARTH IN THE LAST YEARS—— REVELATION 12.
I BEGIN TO SEE AS I READ THIS BOOK SHATTERED DREAMS, THE AUTHOR IS REALLY GETTING AT WHAT IS A TRUE FAITHFUL CHRISTIAN. MANY NEW CHRISTIANS ARE NOT GIVEN MUCH BIBLE KNOWLEDGE BEFORE THEY ARE BAPTIZED, AS TO THE WHOLE STORY OF WHAT A CHRISTIAN IS, OR SHOULD BE, IN ATTITUDE, MIND, WORDS, AND IN DAILY LIVING.
SAD TO SAY BUT THEY OFTEN ENTER CHRISTIANITY WITH NO CONCEPT OF WHAT THEY MAY HAVE TO FACE, IN BEING A CHILD OF GOD; AND THE HOPE THEY MUST HAVE, THE GREATEST HOPE THEY MUST HAVE, TO ENDURE ALL THINGS, TO FIGHT A GOOD FIGHT, TO THE END OF THIS PHYSICAL LIFE, AND TO KNOW WHATEVER MAY COME, THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND ETERNAL LIFE IS THERE FOR THEM. WHEN JESUS RETURNS, WHEN THE RESURRECTION OF ALL SAINTS FROM ALL AGES, WILL TAKE PLACE— THE BLESSED HOPE, THE BLESSED PROMISE— TO BE WITH JESUS IN HIS THOUSAND YEAR REIGN, AND THEN ETERNITY WITH THE FATHER IN THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH— REVELATION 20, 21, 22.
To be continued
Keith Hunt
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