Gospel Encounter 39

 

‘YOUR FREE WILL . . .???’

Oh yes, you have a free will and you can choose how you think and it has the potential of making ‘man’ feel clever and important! It might even produce some good as well as evil!

Let us pose a question to you: Whose will is the greatest — your’s or God’s? God said that His will was to include all men in redemption. . .2 Peter 2:9 says that He is not WILLing that any perish . . . therefore they must get redeemed. . . . yet He lets us operate in our own will and make decisions of all types. Note this . . . God being Almighty God, knows ALL things . . . Omniscient is the word we use. So He always knows what you will choose. . . He even knew your thoughts before you thought them . . . Marvellous and unique! That’s foreknowledge and is reserved for God. He knew which tree Adam and Eve would choose and let them do it.

Romans 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope . . . He knew what effect that would have on all of mankind. It didn’t concern Him one little bit. Why? He had already made provision for that in the ‘Lamb slain from the foundation of the world’ (Rev.13:8). Remember, God so loved the world . . . not just the Christians!

Isaiah 43:13 Yea, before the day was I am He; and there is none that can deliver out of My hand: I will work, and who shall stop it?

Psalm 90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. When God speaks it is a command not an invitation! Man whom He loves and gave Himself for will receive much chastening (Heb.12:6) so that His will can override man’s will.

The Holy Spirit so moves to change our thinking until we have His wisdom and His understanding.

All decisions that we make . . . our own unchecked will in operation . . .are dependent upon circumstances, teaching and education and timing etc. It is very comforting to know that God rules in the affairs of man . . .

2 Chron 20:6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? And rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? And in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?). God rules the Christians and the heathen!

How does He do it? By being God , Omnipotent . . . all powerful and He shows His power by knowing beforehand and using all the circumstances that surround each individual.

Here are two allegories that just might help us grasp how God views this subject.

1). Imagine a large flat board with a rim around it. In the centre there is a small round hole just a little bigger than the marble that is in one of the corners. God’s will is that the marble (you) goes down the hole which leads from the natural life to the supernatural life in Him.

God, being the Almighty Sovereign and thus having all knowledge . . . that means ALL . . . knowledge of every thought and action that ever was or will take place . . .holds the board. The complete course that the marble (you) takes is known by God including all your stupid and unwise choices by which you missed the hole. However, since He holds the board and since He is greater than you or I, you will eventually go down that hole. Some go down this side of the grave . . . others go down the other side. Your course will always have the correcting touches that gives out. Always He is correcting to bring forth righteousness.

2). Imagine that you are a passenger on an ocean-going liner called ‘Life’. God, being the Captain, is knowingly taking His ship to His chosen destination. You are on the ship and you can choose where you walk, who you associate with, what you eat, how you think, what you speak and so on . . . your free-will enables you to make all those decisions. Meantime the ship still goes onwards towards its destination and you go with it.

God’s original purpose which is unchanged, is simply that He will make man(kind) in His image and likeness (Gen.1:26). Surely there is no one stupid enough to say, ‘Let’s whoop it up now because we’ll all get ‘there’ in the end’. Such action will cause nothing but pain in us and in others. A wise man avoids this by yielding to the Captain’s wishes — why not? . . . For He holds the ‘board’.

‘Man’ will choose usually according to that which will be exciting and still be comfortable . . . it must fit in with his ‘comfort-zone’!  We have an example . . . most want ‘revival’ for they know about it and therefore they can easily rejoice in it . . . the choice before us in this hour . . .

 

REVIVAL OR ‘A NEW THING’?

Isaiah 43:18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. (19) Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

TODAY is a NEW DAY . . . for its content and purpose has never been seen before. This NEW (1000 year) DAY is a NEW AGE (Greek = aion . . .not the soul-operated counterfeit one) which brings with it a NEW VISION of the corporate Christ coming forth — Yes! The sons of God which creation has been waiting for (Romans 8:23) — they will arise in His Image to the throne . . . adopted with Father God’s full nature, authority and provision. This day has a NEW OPERATION with NEW EXPERIENCES that will usher in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. This manifestation will come forth fulfilling the template of the Pattern Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember, ‘Creation is NOT groaning and travailing for more Christians!’, but for those ‘sons’ who have yielded to the processings of the Spirit and have matured into His image (2 Cor.3:17-18).

NEW INSIGHTS (revelations) into God Himself and His true redemptive nature as He reconciles the world unto Himself and what He has planned for these culminating days of His great plan of the ages.

We do not need a REVIVAL of anything!!! Why not, there was great blessing? Whatever one would like to revive, it didn’t work for very long last time, so why desire to go through that again? Is not far, far better to desire THE NEW THING that God promised? It shall not die out and it shall endure and it shall get to all men eventually . . . far better! ?Something REvived will have been seen before and also been dead for a time and therefore cannot be classed as NEW!

So what do you desire to see and enter into? Something ‘revived’ or God’s NEW THING?

God really does know best . . . His will covers all the details and there are no mistakes. §