Believe God's Will

So what is wrong with the world we live in? It is confused, afraid, sick, beat down, at odds with one another, apprehensive, depressed, and whatever else we could add to this list of adverse effect. It is shorter and more to the point however, to just say that it is in darkness. The world is in darkness because it has disbelieved God's will and believed a whole bunch of lies from the devil. That's what started the ball rolling downhill in the beginning, and that is STILL the problem. Eve believed the serpent's lie, Adam joined her in it, and the rest is unfortunate history; except for one REALLY BIG thing. That one thing is the manifestation of the Son of God nearly two thousand years ago right here in this world. Let's cut to the chase here and let Peter tell us what it was that Jesus did when he was here: "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him" (Acts 10:38). By joining Eve in her disobedience to God, Adam submitted himself to the devil, who was behind the serpent's lying suggestion to do what God had told them not to do. In submitting to the devil Adam sold us all out to be subject to the devil's oppression; and both they and we became the recipients of all of the things listed in the beginning of this article, and then some. Again let's allow an apostle of Jesus to tell us what it was that Jesus came to this world to do: "And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin... He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might DESTROY the works of the devil" (I Jn. 3:5,8). That's right, Jesus came to cure us of the spiritual disease of sin, and to destroy all of the symptoms of that disease that the devil has been oppressing man with since the garden of Eden. As one song that I love says, "That's the good news people!" Now my Bible says, "Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8). I'll bet that if you check yours, it says the same thing too. That's even BETTER news, because that means that everything that Jesus did when he was here, he still does NOW, and then some!

Jesus can do more today in fact because he couldn't get anyone out of sin when he was here, due to the fact that he had not yet paid the price and presented that price before his Father in heaven. But he HAS NOW, so we can now have true, literal remission of sins, and live free from sin as well. That comes by the true cleansing POWER of his Spirit, which is what he sent back from heaven after his offering was accepted by his Father (Heb. 10:12-18; Acts 1:4,5,8; Acts 2:4). In regard to Jesus still doing today everything that he did when he was here, he said this: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father" (Jn. 14:12). True believers in Jesus Christ can do the same works that he did because it is by faith in him that the works are accomplished, and he is "the same yesterday, today, and forever." The "greater works than these" is that the baptism of the holy Ghost which is the true remission of sins, can now be administered to men by faith in Jesus; "because [he went] to the Father." My point in all of this is this: Jesus was able to do the works he did because he knew that it was the Father's will for him to do so, and he believed the Father's will and acted on it (Jn. 8:28; Jn. 14:10). The very same principle applies today because it is still God's will, as well as the will of Jesus, for people to be delivered from sin, to be healed, and to be literally cured of ALL of the ills that the devil is still inflicting on mankind. So it is like I said at the beginning, the world is in darkness through disbelieving God's GOOD will for them, and thereby accepting the devil's ILL will toward them. The TRUTH is that God wants GOOD things for everyone, and showed that in living color by sending his Son to pay a very weighty price to get the goods to us. The lie is to just accept that "things are just what they are." Or, "that's life." NO, to accept Satan's lies and the result of them is JUST DEATH, not life! Jesus clearly said, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (Jn. 10:10).

The LIFE that Jesus provided for us includes every GOOD thing; not oppression, sickness, and turmoil of every kind. That's not to say that we won't have hardships and adversities in this life, but it IS to say that even those things HAVE TO work out for our good if we do what is right and trust in his love for us (Rom. 8:28). It is high time for God's people to wake up and believe in Jesus for everything that he has paid the price for us to obtain and bring to this dying world. The apostle Paul said the same in Romans 13:12: "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." That armor of light is the TRUTH about everything that Jesus paid for us to have and to give to others, meaning freedom from sin and all of its symptoms. We must forget all the reasons of why God might not do some miraculous thing, and just focus our faith on the truth that Jesus is waiting for us to believe his will and act on it. He is every bit as willing to deliver from sin, heal of infirmity, deliver from demonic oppression and addictions, and provide miracle comfort; as he has EVER BEEN! He has not changed from who he was when he was here, and he SAID we would do the works he did. Jesus still has compassion on the pain and afflictions of men, even as he did when he raised a widow woman's only son from the dead and restored him to her alive (Lk. 7:11-15). It is HIM that does the works, so we just need to stay our minds on him and BELIEVE what HE wants to do. It doesn't have anything to do with what WE can or cannot do because it is already settled that we can do NOTHING without him. He on the other hand "is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Eph. 3:20). "The power that works in us" is actually faith in HIS power to do what he is willing to do. And that leaves us with the only conclusion that there is: "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mk. 9:23). Oh yeah, I might add one more thing: YOU CAN BELIEVE because HE is willing to do whatever is needed. Amen.