Choices, Choices, Choices

1 John 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.  13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one.

I write unto you babes in Christ because you must know your sins are forgiven.  I write unto you father’s in the faith because you have known the Torah and the grace of God and you knew the Lord when He came.  I write unto you young men, because with all your strength and passions and zest for life you have overcome the temptations of Satan and have embraced the Lord of Hosts and have used your great strength in His service.

In every generation there is a temptation, a blessing and a fulfilled need in your life.  God’s love is absolutely awesome and full of power and ability to both keep us and change us.  We must understand and embrace each generation so they might fulfill their purpose in Christ Jesus.  Far too many have either failed to fulfill their purpose or have become a pale shadow of that purpose.  In many churches we do not acknowledge the call of our children until they are in their late twenties or even thirties.  I am not talking about the cute praise dancing or children’s choir.  I am talking about actual ministry where we teach them God’s Word daily and prepare them for life in Christ.  How can we reduce their ministry before God to a ‘seen but not heard’ status when Christ Himself preached and taught the Sanhedrin at the age of twelve. 

At my age I am supposed to be the voice of reason and wisdom.  My experiences are supposed to be available to the youth so they do not choose the wrong paths but my other  purpose is to encourage them to venture out in ever increasing acts of faith and ministry.  My job is not to hold them back from growing up in Christ until they become frustrated and abandon their faith or the ministry before they even begin.  When I was a young man of 21 or 22, Apostle Sims had me prophesy to seasoned ministers.  I should have begun even earlier but that is when I came to the Lord.  He never held us back and afforded us opportunities to minister whenever possible.  Because of this we knew we were immature in some areas (nothing like having a seasoned prophet say, “Keep at it son, you’ll get it one day.) but bit by bit we were ushered into responsibility and purpose. 

1 John 2:14 I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

A child raised in a godly and loving home has a deeper understanding of God than any abused and wounded child.  Frederick Douglas once said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”  It is wonderful to win the abused and beaten of the world to the Lord but how much better to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of His love.  When they have been raised in love and grace they will truly understand their heavenly Father. 

Fathers who love God have learned who He is through years of experience and love.  They know His moods and desires.  We can speak a word of truth that will change the course of lives because we truly have learned to know the Father.  Father’s provide continuity as God our Father is the truly continuous one.  He is forever and will never change.  We have (supposedly) come to know Him and are passing that along to our children.  Once again this scripture says that the young men are strong.  They have their vitality and power and they are full of life.  They have overcome the evil one by strength of character and the DUNAMIS power of God.  They are no longer children who are tossed to and fro.  They are young vibrant adults who have overcome the enemy through their knowledge of God’s Word and are ready to join the community of believers in that fight.

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

I have often watched groups like the Sierra club and Earth First who would love to kill off three quarters of the human race in order to protect this planet.  My earthly father always told me to leave a place cleaner and better than I found it.  I have no problem with conservation and protecting what God has given us but at the same time I recognize that this Earth will one day burn up in flames and violence and there will be a new heaven and a new earth.  This planet like everything and everyone on it, is subject to the bondage of decay (Romans 8:21).  The truth is, the Earth was created for man; not the other way around.

The word for WORLD is kosmos and means the orderly arrangement of all things.  Why should God have any problem with the orderly arrangement that He set in motion in the first place.  Perhaps the answer is that we have become infatuated with the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever (Romans 1:25).  God will not allow anyone or anything receive more worship than He does, certainly not the planet He created to be our home.  Many nations on Earth are cursed because they have removed God from His rightful place and have exchanged Him for trees and mountains and four legged animals.  They worship nature or an idea or a purpose above the very God who gave us minds able to comprehend these ideas.

Whoever loves this world we live on more than those who live on it has already left God and His purpose for this planet.  His purpose was that you might have more abundant eternal life through His son, Christ Jesus.  Elizabeth Falls in Africa are absolutely beautiful.  The Grand Canyon in Nevada is awe inspiring.  When you look upon this Earth that God has created for us you can’t help but see His love for beauty and joy in creation.  The golden oil rich sands of Arabia are filled with strife and war.  They have enough wealth to meet any need and turn the Middle East into a flourishing garden but God’s judgment against them keeps them bickering and battling because they have left their first love.  The beauty of North Korea is tainted by suspicion, poverty and distrust because they have left their first love.  South Korea is a shining light of Christian love and a vibrant economy.  The only difference between them is God’s love and grace. 

There are good and terrible reasons to carefully watch every corner of the earth but only one perfect one.  God said, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” 

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

I was at a department store the other day looking for a Birthday Card.  In one particular section the cards were all about being proud of who you are.  As I read one after the other I realize  that my simple desire to choose a HAPPY birthday greeting was being changed and twisted by the spirit of pride.  As Christians we are supposed to be aware that whatever we are is because of God’s grace and love.  I can be proud of my God and be happy and blessed that He chose me but what RIGHT or REASON do I have to be proud of this bag of bones I call flesh?

The verse above says that lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes and pride of life is ALL that is in the world.  That means that when a preacher sounds like a motivational speaker and tells you how you deserve happiness and you are a terrific person, he has allowed the spirit of the world to enter his message and corrupt it.  The truth is that God has promised you more abundant life and to make you more like the Him each day because of HIS love and HIS grace and HIS mercy. 

GOD has much to be proud of. 

Lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh can be about that new car, new home or expensive watch just as it might refer to your desire for sexual fulfillment.  You may be tall or short, thin or fat, smart or not so smart, but all those attributes reflect who you are in God and are not anything YOU have provided.  I have Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD.  I have often wondered why God ‘made me thus.’  I’m not a genius but I do have a reasonably comfortable IQ.  As for looks, as long as I am comfortable with them I can look in the mirror and say, “You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-18).”  I am precious in God’s eyes.  That Psalm I just quoted ends by saying, “marvelous are your works Lord.”  I didn’t make myself.  God did.  Should I be proud that I was made black, white or brown, male or female when I had nothing to do with it? 

If mankind could choose to bear a boy or girl, if we develop this scientific ability, then we will begin to believe we are gods.  In many countries those parents would chose to have nothing but boys because a girl is looked down upon.  In twenty years those boys will look around for their soul mates and find nothing because of their parent’s short sighted prejudices.  We neuter men and masculinize women and wonder why they choose themselves to love.  A masculine man and feminine man make a family together and since they cannot bear children they adopt on of the many left without families because of wars or famine.  This so called love is borne out of deliberate disobedience to God.  The women who find each other say, “We are women, we can bear children.”  They go to a fertility clinic and purchase seed or find a good male friend who is willing to ‘help them out’ and get them pregnant and call this love, yet another deliberate disobedience to God.

As a man I may find thousands of women attractive.  I have no emotional attachment to any of them, but if my wife and I have NOT maintained a healthy emotional, spiritual and loving relationship with one another, that very attractiveness can become lust of the eyes or lust of the flesh.  It is this vital and necessary love, both agape and phileo, that allows us to marry and nurture and raise a family together when age and time cause the eros of the relationship to fade.  God has forbidden certain relationships for our own good.  Like accepted relationships they may contain selfless love, friendship love and passionate love but they are nonetheless forbidden. 

God has said, “These are my rules.  I do not make them because they are unimportant or of no consequence but because they are important and have grave consequences.  The consequences may be hidden to you but trust ME, I know best.  Your obedience may not always be the most pleasurable choice at first, but eventually your flesh will come into agreement with your spirit and My Spirit.” 

You ask yourself why you should deny yourself these passions, these relationships?  Verse 17.

1 John 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

God has not said that you cannot have passion or comfort or love.  He has not denied you any GOOD thing; He is simply the one who determines what is good and holy and right.  You do not have to obey Him.  The word abideth above (meno) means to stand, to remain, to endure, to maintain.  The word ever (alon) means world without end, eternal, beyond time.  We know that those who disobey and forsake God are doomed to spend eternity in Hell and we know that there is a great gulf fixed so no one may enter and bring comfort to those suffering in Hell (Luke 16:24-26).  We also know that Hell will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14-15). 

Salvation is not difficult.  Jesus said, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:30).”  There ARE things we are denied in Christ and if we press toward that mark then the grace of God is sufficient.  If we choose to disobey God and fulfill our ungodly passions then it is no more grace but a fearful looking forward to judgment (Hebrews 10:19-31 ^read).  This scripture refutes those scandalous lying people who say that God’s grace is provided to keep us safe even when we choose to deliberately disobey God’s Word and still try and call ourselves Christian. 

For you who choose to deny yourself in order to obey God and cherish His life giving Spirit, there is eternal life.  For you who do not…

Choose life beloved.