“WHEN EVERYTHING ELSE FAILS, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS”

We have all heard the above saying, and how true it is to life! As humans, we are prone to try everything else before we turn to and trust in the truth.

God’s Word is our instructions for life. It shows us where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going. God’s commandments show us how to build our lives, how to live life, and how to outlive all of the problems of this life by faith, unto gaining eternal rewards.

However, due to the flesh lusting against the Spirit of God, there is much living that abides not with the instructions of God’s Word. And as is the case in other things, life not put together according to the instructions, develops many functional problems. As Dr. Phil says, even accidents can be attributed to factors not taken into proper consideration, which in turn contributed to the circumstances that led up to the accident.

When the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) finally made his decision to cast aside the laws of his father to take his life into his own hands, at that moment he felt like the battle was over, having declared his independence from his father’s way. People may wrestle with the difference between what they want and what God’s Word says, unto finally coming out in the open with their decision to do what they want instead of the way God’s Word teaches. When they do this, they get the feeling that the battle is over, that now they can finally get on with living their life their way.

But, rather than the battle be over when the prodigal son declared his position to his father, his battle had just begun! He had thrown aside the privileges, opportunities, and blessings that he could have had for living his life according to his father’s will, unto beginning to bear the burden of his life of sin.

God’s instructions do not prevent our having a good life. They rather prevent us from messing up our lives. And once we put our lives together contrary to God’s instructions, then we are left with the many and often unsolvable functional problems of life, that we will bear the burden of the rest of our lives.

Think about the importance of God’s instructions for life, before you make any decision to put your life together contrary to His instructions.

“For every man shall bear his own burden.” Galatians 6:5

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21

“Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.”  Ephesians 3:21

It has been said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  In the eyes of the Lord Jesus Christ, the local New Testament Church is beautiful, it’s worth determined by it’s purchased price, the perfect shed blood of Christ!  See Ephesians 5:25-27

Modern man has set the local church aside as being too insufficient and has put his trust in his multi-funded, big business religious organizations.  How long would those big organizations last, if there was to be hard times?

The Lord’s work has come down through the ages in the form of the local church, with one church making possible the perpetuation of another.  It has proven itself to be sufficient, with not even the gates of hell able to prevail against it, because the Lord has been (and is) with it always.  (Matthew 16:18 and Matthew 28:19-20)

God has always used a plan that has been considered foolishness by the wisdom of man-  1 Corinthians 1:26-31.  This is so “That no flesh should glory in his presence.” and “That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

Those who would turn from the glory of the plan of God, unto the ways and means of men, are not visionaries, but rather those who do not see what God sets before man.  Eternity will manifest the difference, as God judges all things according to His Word.

The spirits of our day are projecting that man needs to be catered to, in order to get him to take up with God.  The idea being, since men have no interest in the local church, then we should give them a religious program outside of the church, suited to their tastes.  So, rather than preaching that sinners need to repent and be born again in order to see and enter the kingdom of God, the idea is to give them a god and a religious kingdom they can see and partake of with the eye and desires of the flesh.

The proud sinner is saying, “God if you please me, I’ll recognize you.”  But God’s position with sinners is:  “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts:  and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”  Isaiah 55:7 The sinner’s alienation from God’s way, is due to his spiritually dead and blind condition.  To be saved from this sin condition, one must repent, i.e., have a complete change of mind about himself, see himself unworthy before God, and in contrition and godly sorrow, seek unto God with all his heart, receiving Christ as both Saviour and Lord.  Then one can see the beauty of the local church that Jesus purchased with His own blood!

“Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them:  and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets.  For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.”  Isaiah 5:25

God warns sinful mankind to flee the wrath to come.  He does this by asserting His righteous judgment against all unrighteousness, while at the same time proclaiming salvation through repentance and faith.

Some interpret God’s will to save sinners as meaning God loves sinners just as they are.  HOW ABSURD!  If God loved sinners just as they are, then they would not need salvation from their sin.  But God’s love is all about saving sinners from what they are, lest they perish.

Apart from coming to God’s salvation, sinners are under condemnation before God due to Adam’s transgression – Romans 5:18.  All unsaved sinners still have the wrath of God abiding on them – John 3:36.  “God is angry with the wicked every day.”  Psalm 7:11 God cannot and will not tolerate sin, even though He is longsuffering towards sinners:  “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.” Habakkuk 1:13

There are two grave errors that man’s thinking can lead to.  First, the thinking that a God of love would not send anyone to hell; that a God of love would not discriminate against any because of their lifestyle; that God’s love only allows our sins to make Him sad, but that His love for man is unconditional.  But Isaiah 5:25 describes God’s response to the sin of His people:  “Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them and hath smitten them.” Make no mistake about it, God will not give sin a free pass!

The second error, is thinking that since God judges sin, that once one has messed their life up in sin, that there is no hope.  But with God, “For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.”  Isaiah 5:25f Even though His anger is not turned away, even though judgment is on the horizon, yet His hand is stretched out still, not willing that the sinner perish, but rather they come to repentance.  This is God’s amazing grace, that lies beyond human comprehension.  The reason God can have His hand stretched out to those He is bringing judgment against, is that Christ died for all our sins.  For all who repent and turn to Christ, the wrath of God is stayed, through the atoning power of Jesus’ shed blood.

Don’t let Satan convince you not to concern yourself with your sin.  Nor, don’t let Satan depress you into thinking there is no hope for you because of sin.  Believe God.  Repent, return to the Lord, and He will have mercy – Isaiah 55:7.

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by the which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”  Ephesians 4:13, 16

It is a God given honor to serve in a New Testament Church:  “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.”  1 Corinthians 12:18 When two people marry, they must change their thinking process and the way they do things to fully accommodate both parties individually, as well as jointly.  To serve in the church, one must be fully minded and wise unto functioning as a member of Christ’s Body with the Body.  Some suggestions are:

~Make all the decisions necessary to get yourself in good standing with the Lord and the church.

~Pray about what the Lord would have you do, unto reaching the point of being fully surrendered to Him for whatever it takes.

~Count the cost; be wise to the fact there will be challenges and things that seek to interfere with your serving faithfully, that you must overcome through firm resolve on your part.

~Be of the same mind with the church and it’s leadership.  If you have questions, differences, be out in the open and settle them up front.  Don’t ambush the leadership with an outbreak of rebellion, discord or offense by taking issue with established policies.  Reconcile first before making the claim of being on board.

~Hold yourself accountable and responsible to faithfully perform any undertaking.  Don’t take on anything you are not prepared to do faithfully.  Should you be unable or unwilling to perform faithfully, remove yourself by stepping down.

~Look not for the praise of men.  Do what you do as unto the Lord and not unto men.  Look for your rewards in heaven, not on earth.

How is your spiritual economy?  Are you in a recession?  A depression?

“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground:  for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.”  Hosea 10:12