Perseverance and Truth

If there is one thing that the pride of man hates, it is for someone to dictate absoluteness to him. He just can't stand it. That is why the prophets were persecuted and killed. They spoke for God, and if God is anything at all, he is certainly absolute. Totally absolute! Jesus said that he is "the way, the truth, and the life" (Jn. 14:6). That sounds pretty absolute to me, doesn't it you? What a thing to say indeed. Just so happens he was right though. Oh yeah, I almost forgot; he went on to say in the same breath that "no man [can] come to [God] but by [him]." That's getting down to it as it is said. Maybe you've noticed, but a whole lot of folks who name the name of Christ want anything but absoluteness themselves. That's really strange because there is nowhere in the Bible where God, his Son, or anyone who represented him operated in anything but absoluteness. As God himself said to Moses when Moses asked him who he should tell the children of Israel sent him; "I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you: (Exd. 3:14). Whoa!! Now that is as absolute as it gets my friend! It only serves to good reason that anyone that is as absolute as that would send someone to speak for him only with words of absoluteness, meaning only with HIS OWN words! Yes my friend, that is what I'm saying, that the word of God is absolute and without refute (no rhyme intended). I'm not talking about someone speaking about what they think the scriptures mean; I'm talking about God's word from God's mouth COMING TO someone, and him anointing them to speak HIS word. Here's a for instance of what I'm saying: "And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying..." (Ezek. 31:1). The words that came to Ezekiel had nothing to do with what him or anyone else thought about the scriptures or anything else for that matter. Those words came from God, and they were altogether about what GOD THOUGHT! In other words it was as Ezekiel said, that the word of God came to him. No one should be trying to speak or write for God unless they are stating something that has come to them from God. If we are speaking God's words then we are speaking absoluteness, because what God has to say is always absolute. And again I say, that is why the messengers of the Lord have always and will always be persecuted, because man does not want anything absolute dictated to him.

We should remember that it has traditionally been God's people who have rejected those who have spoken in his name, so in saying 'man,' that very much includes those who are named with the name of Christ. Everybody today just wants to have their turn (and everyone else's) to tell what's on their mind, as if the word of God is some kind of free-for-all game of opinions. Seems to me that too many have forgotten the sobering (and absolute) words of Jesus: "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" (Mat. 12:36,37). I'm certain that rule applies to what we have to say about what we think God has to say. I don't know about you but that feels like the fear of the Lord to me. You see, there's a really good reason that the scriptures are replete with sayings like the following: "A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards" (Prov. 29:11). Here's another one that should invoke godly fear: "Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him (Prov. 29:20). The point is that anyone who understands the absoluteness of hearing and speaking God's word, is not going to go around just telling what they think, or hastily putting an opinion out about anything that pertains to God. On the other hand, those who have a problem with the absoluteness of God's word are going to be quite prone to doing just that. They will also almost always condemn anyone who has actually heard from God, and is putting his word out faithfully. Nonetheless, what does God think about the whole thing? He in fact told Jeremiah exactly what he thinks: "For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? ... I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed... The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" (Jer. 23:18,25,28,29). I can only speak for myself, but my conclusion is to speak or write (or type) only what I'm certain God has revealed to me. It just feels a whole lot safer that way to me. God bless.